Photos sent to chrislynchmedia.com show the rescue operation of a vehicle trapped in floodwaters near Mt Lyford this morning.

Specialist Water Rescue Teams rescued the person with support from members of the Waiau Volunteer Fire Brigade.

The incident was reported shortly after 3am and the occupant of the vehicle was rescued about 7am.

The specialist teams are made up of Canterbury firefighters trained in water response. They were sent to Kaikōura yesterday afternoon ahead of the forecast heavy rain and are supporting volunteer firefighters from Kaikōura and surrounding brigades.

The rescue comes as severe flooding continues to cause major disruption across the Kaikōura district, where a state of emergency has been declared after the Kōwhai River burst its banks this morning.

Some people in the Kaikōura district could be without power for days, with MainPower saying parts of its network are experiencing outages because of the severe weather and damage caused by a washout at Cribb Creek Bridge.

State Highway 1 is closed near Hawkswood, while footage from NZTA shows floodwaters from the Conway River earlier today.

Farmland near the Conway River has also been flooded, while footage taken from the rail bridge shows how quickly the river has been rising.

Kaikōura Mayor Craig Mackle earlier told chrislynchmedia.com the situation was not looking good and the worst was yet to come.

Fire and Emergency said its Specialist Water Rescue Teams were later responding to another incident on Inland Kaikōura Road, where two vehicles were reported to have crashed about 6.40am.

Fire and Emergency has urged people to stay off roads affected by flooding or slips.

“Driving through flood waters is dangerous and puts lives at risk, not just for the driver and passengers, but for the first responders who are called to rescue them,” it said.

A Red Warning for Heavy Rain remains in place for eastern Marlborough and upper Canterbury, especially between Ward and Hanmer Springs and southeast of the Awatere Valley, including the Kaikōura Ranges.

MetService said the weather system continues to push a rain band over eastern Marlborough, with significant rainfall already recorded and more expected before conditions ease around 6am on Wednesday.

MetService meteorologist Paris Marshall said, “Heavy rain of this magnitude brings the risk of rapidly rising rivers, surface flooding, slips, and dangerous driving conditions. Road closures are also possible, particularly where rain turns to snow over higher ground.”

Red Warnings are reserved for the most extreme weather events, where significant impacts and widespread disruption are expected.