Emergency services around Canterbury are evacuating houses and closing roads, as the state of emergency continues into Thursday night.
Rescue helicopter footage shows the extent of flooding across the Canterbury Plains and slips are expected to occur overnight.
More than 200 mm of rain has fallen in Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula over the past 48 hours.
Helicopter footage shows flooding across Canterbury Plains. Photo: GCH Aviation
Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger told Checkpoint that the state of emergency was a precaution to keep people informed and to assist emergency services, if they needed to protect people overnight.
"To have the state of emergency, so people can go in there in the middle of the night," he said. "If they have to evacuate someone, if they have a medical emergency or something goes terribly wrong, they've got the power to do that."
