Lately for Wednesday 17 August 2022

10:15 Extreme weather

It's going to be a sleepless night for many across the West Coast and top of South Island as a weather bomb continues to inundate the area.

Multiple rivers, streams and creeks have breached their banks and communities have been cut off after flooding has closed roads.

A state of emergency has been declared in Nelson after the Maitai River burst it's banks this afternoon and residents living nearby have been asked to evacuate.

The New Zealand Defence Force and Fire and Emergency are helping with the evacuations.

Further south a state of emergency is also still in place across the West Coast after severe weather warnings were raised to red for Buller and Westland until Thursday afternoon.

Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese is on the line now. 

Kia ora Rachel 

10:25 Insomniac Birds

It appears its not just us humans who are a bit foggy after a bad night sleep

Insomniac birds, kept awake at night by the lights and sounds of our cities seem to have trouble remembering their songs.

While the negative impact of human activity on wildlife has long been studied we are still learning about the effects a bad night of sleep has on how birds communicate.

Auckland University PhD student Juliane Mussoi believes there is an issue and is calling for more research on the effects of light and noise pollution on birds' sleeping patterns and the knock-on effects 

10:30 Midweek Mediawatch 

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. 

This week Colin Peacock talked to Karyn Hay about Kiwi reporters on the ground in Ukraine to see the effects of war first-hand. 

Also: reporters' relationship with rugby management sinks to a new low in South Africa - and Leo Molloy blames media after scrapping his tilt at the mayor's job in Auckland.