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• MetService says the wild weather is forecast to ease today. 
• Severe winds gusting up to 150km/h battered Wellington, ripping off roofs and cancelling flights. 
• Selwyn and Christchurch declared states of emergency after heavy rain caused widespread flooding. 

Kiwis are counting the cost after wild weather tore across the country, bringing flooding and slips and forcing self-evacuations yesterday. 

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said they received 85 total weather-related calls overnight. 

They said they only responded to 31, which mostly related to roofs lifting or issues with supply lines sparking in Wellington and into the Hutt Valley. 

The other 54 calls were mostly related to powerlines coming down, which the spokesperson said were passed onto power companies. 

In the South Island, another spokesperson said the last major call they responded too was the evacuation in Lyttelton following a slip. 

The heavy rain and severe gusts that tore down trees and ripped off roofs look set to fade away today. 

MetService forecaster Lewis Ferris told the Herald the widespread severe weather that lashed Canterbury and Wellington yesterday would ease. 

“In Canterbury, things are pretty much going to plan for where it is forecast to go,” he said. 

“That rain looks to pull off Canterbury and the Kaikōura coast.” 

Ferris said the wind and rain in the Wellington region would also die down. 

“The wet and windy weather makes its way up the east coast of the North Island,” he said, “to the likes of Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay, but easing as it goes. 

“It will still be breezy, but the worst of it would have occurred yesterday.” 

Waves crash over a road on Wellington's south coast as fierce winds hit the capital on Thursday. Photo / Niwa 

MetService downgraded Wellington’s red wind warning to an orange wind warning about 8.30pm last night. 

The orange rain warning across Canterbury also expired at 8.30pm. 

Torrential downpours and 150km/h wind gusts 

Severe winds gusting up to 150km/h buffeted Wellington, damaging roofs, downing trees and closing roads. 

MetService said the strongest gust recorded at its Mt Kaukau station was 150km/h yesterday morning before the station stopped recording at 8am. 

Fire and Emergency NZ said it attended 165 minor storm-related events between 6am and 7pm, while Wellington Electricity recorded more than 2293 unplanned power outages across its network, many in the Hutt Valley. 

Wellington Airport recorded its strongest southerly gust since 2013, reaching up to 118km/h about 11am, resulting in the cancellation of all flights out of the city. 

MetService upgraded Wellington’s wind warning to a rare red level, with destructive gales and a threat to life from flying items and falling trees. 

Last night, residents were bracing for the 8pm high tide, with those living near the storm-hit south coast urged to self-evacuate amid fears of coastal inundation. 

In the South Island, torrential downpours flooded Canterbury early yesterday morning, closing roads and schools and causing slips. 

Several people had to be rescued after becoming trapped in cars by the floodwaters. 

The Selwyn District Council declared a state of emergency at 5.39am and asked residents to self-evacuate to prevent being cut off completely. 

Residents of Doyleston, Canterbury, put sandbags outside their homes as the rain continues to fall. Photo / George Heard 

Doyleston residents battled to keep floodwater from their front doors during the downpours. 

Nick Reid spent the morning using sandbags to deflect water from his house. 

“I’ve been out here all my life, and I’ve never seen it this bad,” he told the Herald. 

Christchurch Airport had its fourth wettest morning in history: 80.2mm fell between 9am and 10am. 

Elsewhere, Mt Hutt recorded 80cm of snow and Porters Lodge reported 20cm. 

The wintry blast that supplied Mt Hutt’s heavy fall also reached Tekapo. 

Snow blankets the New Zealand Defence Force Base at Tekapo. Photo / NZDF 

Flood rescue 

A North Canterbury woman was rescued by a farmer after her car got stuck in flooding. 

Belle Donovan left for work on Wednesday night and, knowing there was flooding on her usual route, drove a different way. 

“I thought I’d go down Oxford Rd so it was safer… it wasn’t so bad, like the rain was bad, but there was not much flooding on the road,” she said. 

“And then I turned down Carlton Rd and the water started getting deeper and deeper and then I got to a point where my car got stuck in the water because it was so deep. 

“I didn’t know what to do and I couldn’t back out. I turned my car off and then turned it back on and I was sitting there for ages panicking. 

“I literally thought my car was going to sink and I was gonna have to jump out the window.” 

Donovan called 111 but a farmer came to her rescue before emergency personnel arrived. 

He helped guide her out of the floodwaters. 

“I was petrified… I was very scared.” 

Donovan did not think there was any damage to her car but she would not be trying it out any time soon. 

“I’m not going out in the rain today… it’s pretty bad… there’s a lot of road closures, and I wouldn’t go on the roads if it’s not necessary.“ 

David Williams is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics.