Kiwi rock icon Jordan Luck and his flooded Little River property.
Kiwi rock icon Jordan Luck and his flooded Little River property.
Among Little River’s flooded residents is former Exponents frontman Jordan Luck.
“Absolutely surrounded by water. It is a moat!” Luck told the Herald.
Luck says he was woken by his partner’s sister at around 3.30am this morning after more than 24 hours of heavy rain.
“She lives ina tiny home on ours. It was a torrent and lake from daybreak, and it has not abated.”
The celebrated singer and his partner have been at their Banks Peninsula home for more than a decade and say the flooding is as bad as they’ve seen in their time there – even in an area that is renowned for it.
His home sits below road level but well above the height of State Highway 75, which links Christchurch and Akaroa.
Flooding and slips have closed SH75, cutting off the picturesque tourist town of Akaroa.
Banks Peninsula is one of the worst-hit areas and today, more rain is forecast to fall.
Streets in nearby Christchurch are flooded, with the Heathcote River spilling over its banks in places.
Before and after images supplied by Luck show the scale of the flooding event, with it swamping the property with a strong flow of floodwater. The sewerage pipe in the centre of both photographs gives a reference for the height of the water.
Jordan Luck's Little River property has been overwhelmed by floodwaters.
Jordan Luck's Little River property as it normally is – before the flooding.
“The water is creating its own new rivers. Some may go through homes on its way, some they will pass.”
Luck says his local neighbourhood is in touch with each other as they ride it out.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand earlier said “around four people” were rescued from a car stuck in floodwater at the Wairewa Marae in Little River, at around 8.40am.
They were taken to the local fire station, safe and well.
Mike Thorpe is a senior journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.
