Thread by @althecat

Upstream flow gauges in Temuka, Rangitata, Rakaia & Waimakariri appear to be peaking or in the case of the Waimakariri close to peaking.

Meanwhile the official ECAN alerts page seems to not be freaking out, so that's all good >> ecan.govt.nz/home/flood-war….

Steady as she flows.

"Breakouts" in the Ashburton vicinity & inland, are the major concern at present. But whatever "breakouts" are they sound a lot less alarming than floods and evacuations.

Also no alarm around the major rivers, yet. Also good.

Alerts here >> ecan.govt.nz/home/flood-war…

The remaining concern will be river mouth flood/tide collisions. High tide timing today is around 6.30am near Timaru, 7.50am at the Rakaia and around 8.30am in Christchuch and at the Waimakariri river mouth.

And there is also 40kmh onshore wind and waves. However on the other hand these are steep rivers, they are not very tidal and the river beds and mouths are designed for huge floods. And as ECAN isn't mentioning them I don't think they are worried either. Except about sightseeing.

As usual,the worst flooding will almost certainly be in Christchurch itself, as it is low lying and has never sorted out its rivers, over more than 150 years.

As for who to blame, if it happens again, I nominate Brownlee. He was in charge and his electorate was flood prone.

Meanwhile this storm is still full on blasting Te Wai Pounamu's East Coast with high winds and rain from Oamaru to Wellington now just after midnight.
Tomorrow is going to be a terrible day to be on the roads in NZ. Everywhere from the look of things.