Marlborough Emergency Management will maintain operations overnight.

NZ Defence Force and Council staff will continue to closely monitor flood prevention infrastructure in the region for any changes after the significant weather event of the past 24 hours.

Residents of lower parts of Renwick township (Lower Terrace) and surrounding land adjacent to Gibson’s Creek and up to the Waihopai/Wairau confluence are still advised to be ‘ready to go’ should the situation change with a stopbank at the confluence of the Waihopai/Wairau rivers. The water level there has peaked and is slowly dropping, easing the risk, but residents should still be prepared.

An emergency mobile alert is ready to be sent should an evacuation be required immediately. If required to evacuate, people are recommended to stay with family or friends as a first option. The Civil Defence Centre at Stadium 2000 will be available from tomorrow morning.

The evacuation order for affected streets in Spring Creek township remains in place overnight and will be reassessed tomorrow morning. The Wairau River has peaked and is now tracking down.

Rai Falls has received 281mm of rain with many parts of the district getting more than 200mm of rain in line with initial MetService New Zealand forecasts.

There continues to be widespread flooding throughout the region. Travel is still not recommended unless absolutely necessary. If travel is required, please drive with extreme caution and to the road conditions.

The closure point for SH1 has been moved to be between Koromiko and Tuamarina. It is hoped that the highway will be open later this evening once the water level drops.

SH63 from Anglesea Street to St Arnaud remains closed. The road has washed out at Andersons Floodway Bridge between Wairau Valley Township and Hillersden and the road is blocked.

SH6 between Havelock and Hira is open with some surface flooding. Surface flooding remains on SH1 across the network.

Any local roads that are closed will remain closed overnight. The next roading update will be sent at 8am tomorrow morning unless something significant changes.

There will be no further updates this evening unless the situation changes.

Sign up to Antenno here: https://www.marlborough.govt.nz/services/apps/antenno

Keep an eye on MetService for watch and warning updates at www.metservice.com/warnings/home

You can track Council’s Floodwatch here: http://hydro.marlborough.govt.nz/floodwatch

Read the latest NZ Transport Agency update at: www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic-bulletins/wet-and-windy-weather-on-the-way-for-top-of-the-south-drivers

For further information on emergency preparedness go to: https://getready.govt.nz/emergency/floods

© Scoop Media