Weather live updates: Homes evacuated, state of emergency in place for West Coast, Nelson-Tasman, rain and wind batter North Island

More than 200 people were evacuated in Nelson overnight as heavy rain and flooding continue to pose an ongoing threat to the region.

A state of emergency remains in place for the Nelson/Tasman region and the West Coast with more rain forecast to hit on Thursday.

Residents were forced to evacuate after the Maitai River in Nelson breached its banks.

Further south, the Buller Civil Defence asked 160 homes to evacuate for the night, as the wild weather also continues on the West Coast. 

• A red heavy rain warning is in place for Nelson, Buller and Westland until Thursday afternoon and evening, with MetService warning these areas could up to 600mm of rain 
• The rain is expected to cause dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips
• More than 200 people were evacuated in Nelson overnight after the Maitai River breached its banks. 
• Buller Civil Defence asked 160 homes to evacuate for the night as the wild weather hit the area. 
• Multiple North and South Island State Highways are either closed or affected by the wild weather
• An orange heavy rain warning is in place for central and the upper North Island. 

9:05am - For the second consecutive night, Auckland and Whangārei have experienced their warmest August night on record.

NIWA said Auckland experienced a minimum temperature of 15.6C, while Whangārei saw temperatures drop to 16.2C to break Wednesday's record.

You can read about Auckland's recording breaking Tuesday night here.

8:54am - Reporter Emma Olsen told AM the weather in Auckland is not great, with the city getting an "absolutely battering".

"MetService has updated its weather warnings for the upper North Island with a heavy rain warning for Northland, Auckland and the Great Barrier Island. Locals are told to prepare for 110-140mm of rain until tomorrow and wind gusts of up to 90kmph," Olsen told AM.

"There are some road closures on State Highway 1 in Hikarungi which is north of Whangārei because of a fallen tree. On State Highway 1 in Mangamuka Gorge there has been a slip that has caused trees to fall and blocked one lane of the road," she said.

"There are also Auckland ferry service cancellations with some taxis replacing ferries. We do have bus route diversions ... and we also have trains delayed because there was a wind gust that took a fence over a train track.

"So people across the country are advised to keep an eye on updates on weather and transport and to prepare for possible self-evacuations if necessary."

8:24am - Waka Kotahi is urging drivers in the Far North to delay their journey with State Highway 1 at the Rangiahua Bridge closed because of flooding.

8:13am - Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese says another 10 people have been evacuated after a failure on the Tahunaui hills overnight.

"It's been a busy last 24 hours, we've got about just over 230 people evacuated now and in fact, when I say 233, I'm talking households, not people, so let's let's double that, which would be a good estimate at the moment," she told AM.

Reese is urging residents who have been evacuated to stay out of their homes until they are provided with further information.

"People are out of those homes at the moment and they need to stay out of them this morning until we can get the USAR and Fire and Emergency teams in to do triage to see what the damage is like," she told AM.

"We are also dealing with a lot of wastewater overflow, so everyone should treat water as contaminated at the moment.

"There will be a bit of time to get underway, do that triage and we'll get information back to people as quickly as we can about whether they can come back into their homes."

Reese says the Nelson community has dealt with the evacuations really well.

"We have had no immediate rescues in the sense of people being absolutely stranded. The people of Nelson were proactive yesterday, they self-evacuated as soon as they got the warning that they needed to go and most people are staying with friends and family," she said.

"We've set up a welfare facility for people that didn't have somewhere to go and that most people actually were looked after. So thank you Nelson for doing what I know you always do."

State Highway 6 in Nelson is closed between Haven Road and Whakatu Drive Intersections because of a slip.

"We've got roads out, we've got slips and we've got the State Highway closed around Rocks Road, which means we've only got one route into the city. That is somewhat compromised at the moment because we've got a major road what's going on on our arterial roads," she said.

"So the message today, is if you can work from home, please do that. Several of the schools are closed and we really want people to stay off the road. If you have to travel, make sure that you take water, food and warm clothes because there will be delays."

8:07am - Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has provided an update on the South Island highways affected by the weather.

Here is the full statement:

While rain has continued to fall on the West Coast and upper South Island overnight, there have been no further closures to the region’s state highways. West Coast routes remain open, and the most significant network issues are centred on Nelson, Marlborough, and Takaka.

State Highway 63 Renwick has reopened between Alma and Anglesea Streets after being closed by flooding yesterday and overnight.

State Highway Closures:

• SH60 Takaka. Closed between Haldane Road and Pupu Valley Road intersection.
  • No detour is available.
• SH6 Nelson, Rocks Road. Closed due to the risk of a significant slip. It is likely to be closed until midday Friday and possibly longer.
  • The detour route is via Haven Rd, Halifax St, Rutherford St and Waimea Rd.  This route is available for Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV) - noting there are no other alternative routes through the city due to height and weight restrictions. All vehicles must comply with speed restrictions.
• SH6 Marlborough. Flooding. Closed from Hira to Havelock.
  • Detour available via SH63, Saint Arnaud.

Slips and localised flooding are an ongoing risk across the region, with SH60 in Takaka and Riwaka/Motueka affected.

Waka Kotahi is monitoring conditions and will reassess the status of state highways depending on how the weather develops. If the weather eases and river levels fall, roads may be able to be reopened. However, the Metservice is forecasting more bad weather for the central South Island on Saturday. It will bring further heavy rain to areas that have already had significant rainfall.

People in affected areas are asked not to travel if they don’t have to. If you do have to use the roads, check their status with Waka Kotahi and local councils before you go. With more rain forecast, roads may be closed at short notice.

People should also stay up to date on the latest weather information.

7:56am - The weather is continuing to cause disruptions to public transport in Auckland with delays expected on the Eastern and Southern Line. 

7:38am - The Buller District Mayor says rain has currently eased in the area after another night of heavy rainfall.

"We certainly had a lot of heavy rain heading into the evening last night, so some surface flooding around Westport and it certainly looks like the Mokihinui River may have been the biggest concern overnight," Jamie Cleine told AM.

"I've not had an update this morning, but certainly the rain has stopped at the moment and we're having a little bit of a breather."

Cleine told AM they're keeping a close eye on the rivers in the region with the red heavy rain warning still in place until 9pm on Thursday.

"It looks potentially like the Buller River has quite a lot of headroom, but noting of course, we are still in the red warning and there's this unpredictable rain ahead," he told AM.

"There's certainly a lot of pre-loading going into all the rivers, so we'll be keeping a watching brief as we get updated during the morning."

Cleine said the region has done all it can to prepare for the wild weather.

"Everyone is well aware, and certainly the team of Fire and Emergency and police went out doorknocking yesterday for about 160 households that are in the most vulnerable areas around Westport," he said.

"The military went out to the areas in Northern Buller and made sure they were prepared and had their evacuation plans all in hand. We're certainly ready, the advice yesterday was the Buller River peak was likely to be mid-morning through to early afternoon today, so it'll be updated this morning, but my feeling is we may have had a fair wallop of that rain sort of late last thing last night."

7:15am - Auckland Transport is advising commuters several ferry and bus services have been cancelled because of the weather. 

7am - The wild weather has forced several key roads to close because of slips and flooding. 

State Highway 6, the main road between Nelson and Blenheim is closed, due to flooding and slips. State Highway 60 is also closed in parts near Takaka while State Highway 63 near Marlborough Airport is closed.

A red heavy rain warning remains in place for Buller, Westland and the Nelson region with MetService warning these places could see 300mm of rain. 

An orange heavy rain warning remains in place for the Tasman District west of Motueka and the Marlborough Sounds. 

The North Island doesn't escape the bad weather with weather warnings and watches in place throughout the island.

An orange heavy rain warning is in place for Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Bay of Plenty, Waikato south of Raglan, Waitomo, Taumarunui, North Taranaki, Tongariro National Park, The Tararua Range and Mount Taranaki.

MetService warns that heavy rain in these areas could cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly, surface flooding and slips possible and driving conditions may be hazardous.

A strong wind warning is in place for Northland until Thursday night with MetService warning gusts could damage trees, powerlines and unsecured structures. Driving may be hazardous, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.

Waka Kotahi is urging drivers near the Mangamuka Gorge to delay their trip after slips and fallen trees blocked one lane on State Highway 1.