Hundreds evacuated as floods hit NZ's Canterbury region
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WELLINGTON • Hundreds of people were evacuated overnight and many more face the risk of abandoning their homes in New Zealand's Canterbury region as heavy rain raised water levels and caused widespread flooding.
At least 300 homes in Canterbury were evacuated overnight as water levels rose in rivers across the region in a "one-in-100-year deluge", local media reports said yesterday.
Several highways, schools and offices were closed and the New Zealand Defence Force deployed helicopters to rescue some people stranded in floods in the Ashburton area.
Ashburton's mayor Neil Brown said "half of Ashburton" would need to be evacuated if the river's levees broke, but there was "still quite a bit of capacity" in the river.
New Zealand's MetService had issued a red warning on Sunday for heavy rain in Canterbury and multiple warnings elsewhere.
The government announced NZ$100,000 (S$96,000) would go towards a Mayoral Relief Fund to support Canterbury communities impacted by the flooding, Acting Minister for Emergency Management Kris Faafoi said in a statement.
REUTERS
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300
At least this number of homes in Canterbury evacuated overnight.
