“Certainly the rain is coming through as expected,” MetService meteorologist Sonja Farmer said. “This event is expected to take place over the next 40-odd hours from now until Monday morning, so the expectation is that there’ll be a lot more rain. “The problem is that a lot of it will be falling in the high country, and the rivers are going to be as much of an issue as the actual rain falling in urban areas,” Farmer said. MetService meteorologist Tom Adams said late Saturday that the most significant impact would come from the rain’s “longevity and persistence”, rather than short bursts of rainfall.
Electricity is out to hundreds of homes in Christchurch and Canterbury, while some residents report wading through water above their knees. There's more rain to come.