There is more damage from overnight rain than expected, the Nelson Tasman Civil Defence says
Flooding in Tasman District. Photo: https://twitter.com/DamienOConnorMP
Marlborough, West Coast and Nelson Tasman remain in a state of emergency this morning because of severe flooding and a second dose of heavy rainfall overnight.
An additional 98 homes in the Nelson area were evacuated last night, bringing the total number of evacuations to 508.
Emergency management controller Jim Frater says weeks of rain has turned the ground to porridge, and more houses are likely to be written off.
He said 168 millimetres of rain fell across the district last night, bringing fresh slips, flooding and road closures.
Frater said a break in the weather is allowing aerial checks of the region to be carried out and the top priority today is getting building inspectors out to assess evacuated homes to see if people are able to return.
If you've been affected by this week's wild weather and would like to share pictures with us, please email them to: iwitness@radionz.co.nz, including details of where the photos were taken and your name so we can credit you.
Police said many of the routes in the region were no longer safe to drive on even if they were only partially blocked.
Police were also warning of treacherous driving conditions across Marlborough due to slips and surface flooding.
Follow all of today's latest weather developments with RNZ's live blog:
