Nelson hit by slips, flooding

More than 80mm of heavy and persistent rain in the Nelson district led to extensive surface flooding, slips and water lapping around houses yesterday.

Locals in the Richmond, Hope and Brightwater areas, southwest of Nelson, reported widespread flooding.

Richmond chief fire officer Ralph Lonsdale said the flooding was most extensive between 8.30am and 11am, but waters subsided during the day and were almost back to normal last night.

"The rivers might still be up a bit, but we haven't had any callouts since about 2.30 this afternoon," he said.

Firefighters helped residents lift furniture and other property from some homes.

"There is not a lot of damage, some slips on roads and surface flooding damage, of course. But there was a bit of water through one or two properties," Mr Lonsdale said.

"The rivers are up and the little creeks decided to get all active."

He said drains had become blocked by leaves and other debris.

A couple of properties in Hope had 20cm to 25cm of water in workshops. Some equipment became wet.

In Nelson itself, fewer problems were reported yesterday, senior fire officer Bruce Hodgson said.

"We've only had a few calls in town, basically water in basements and people finding leaks that they didn't know they had until now," he said.

There was concern high tide, between 7pm and 10pm, could cause further flooding in the central city, but it was hoped the weather would not worsen.

MetService forecaster Marie Grey said more rain was predicted today, with showers in the evening.

It was expected to clear in Nelson tomorrow, when a southwesterly is forecast, but a few showers could persist in the ranges.

- NZPA