The Kaikōura district is in a state of emergency after three rivers breached their banks due to historically heavy rain, writes Henry Oliver in today’s excerpt from The Bulletin.

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A state of emergency was declared in the Kaikōura district yesterday after three rivers breached their banks following one of the heaviest rain events the town has seen in decades, according to reports from RNZ and Stuff. The Kaikōura ranges received 230mm of rain in 24 hours; the township itself received 100mm, more than one and a half times its average monthly July rainfall of 61mm.

The Kōwhai River breached its banks at 10.30am, and residents were navigating floodwaters by boat and ute within hours. The ‘red’ rain warning was extended overnight by MetService to 10am Wednesday, with a further 70–120mm forecast on top of what had already fallen, and peak rates of 10–20mm per hour expected around the ranges. Further rain was forecast through today and into Thursday.

‘We’ve lost a lot of bridges’

Kaikōura mayor Craig Mackle spoke to RNZ last night with medical evacuations at the top of his mind. With roads closed and helicopters grounded by weather, a brief reprieve gave an opportunity to move patients from the town’s medical centre. He warned residents off the roads. “We’ve lost a lot of bridges. So if you’re out and about, you’re running a huge risk. You can’t see [the missing bridge] until it’s too late.”

Asked how the flooding compared with the devastating 1993 event, Mackle said it was “a bit more worrying” because three rivers had breached this time, not just one. Water supply was very limited, he said, and sewer pumps were “maxed out because of all the surface flooding going on.” He urged anyone feeling unsafe to call 111.

Around 80 evacuees spent the night at Takahanga Marae, with others sheltering at the Memorial Hall and the New Life Centre. Marae manager Chevy Allen told RNZ most were locals but some were visitors, and people were waiting for advice on when they might be able to travel or return home. The district council urged evacuees not to attempt to return overnight, saying it would reassess conditions in the morning.

‘Another foot and it would have been coming inside’

Dave Broadhurst, 80, has lived in Kaikōura most of his life. He watched the creek near his property transform from a trickle to a torrent within two to three hours, moving his five horses to higher ground when they were knee-deep in water. The floodwater came right up over his doorstep. “Another foot and it would have been coming inside,” he told The Press.

Broadhurst had last seen anything like it in 1965, and said the 1993 flood – which came directly through the township – had been worse. By late afternoon the water was dropping. “That’s a positive,” he said, still keeping watch rather than evacuating. The district council advised residents to avoid all contact with floodwater and wastewater-affected areas, keeping children and pets away, after the heavy rainfall overwhelmed the town’s wastewater network.

MetService forecast a reprieve beginning Wednesday as the weather system moved north – though Marlborough was still expected to receive further periods of heavy rain, and snow was forecast to 500m in Otago and Southland from Wednesday morning.