Wellington Aug 20 (BNA): Heavy rain eased Saturday in the northern and central regions of New Zealand after four days of heavy rain that forced hundreds of people to leave their homes, although 100 new evacuations took place overnight, Reuters reported.
The southern city of Nelson was hardest hit, with hundreds of homes evacuated during the week, some rendered uninhabitable. Cities were also cut off on the North Island, as roads and homes were inundated with floods.
“Things in the future look very different than last week,” the Metservice weather forecaster said in a tweet. “Most of the precipitation activity is still mainly in the west, but with much less accumulation.”
It had said earlier that it had canceled warnings and watch alerts after the rain fell in the northern and central regions.
Kieran McNulty, Minister of Emergency Management, said Nelson saw more evacuations on Saturday, and thanked those who helped with the rescue effort, but added that the area’s recovery would be a “long and difficult” process.
“Emergency still exists… in Nelson Tasman, Marlborough and the West Coast,” he said on Twitter.
The New Zealand Herald said there were about 100 new evictions overnight.
Emergency authorities said 508 homes in the Tasman area adjacent to Nelson have been evacuated, and the number could rise.
“It looks like this is going to get even bigger,” civil defense officials Nelson Tasman said on Facebook.
They added that rainfall during the night extended the floods to the Kanan-Upper Takaka region and the Richmond mountain range.
The Metservice said on its website that a warning of heavy rain continues in Fiordland on the South Island.
Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate said the affected New Zealanders were on their mind.
“Seeing the devastation caused by the floods in New Zealand is a reminder of the tremendous efforts we must all make to protect our planet,” the royal couple wrote on Twitter.
AOQ