State Highway 1 / Ashburton Bridge has been compromised due to severe weather and is NOW CLOSED.

There is currently no alternate route south as all other road options are closed.

Council contractors continue to investigate road conditions and will provide updates when available.

Fooding has eased in Little River. The Little River Service Hub and Library will open as normal today.

Weather conditions are starting to improve, with the rain easing. The Christchurch City Council is expected to start opening some of the closed roads in Christchurch later today. 

Selwyn

Access from SH1 to the Leeston, Doyleston, Southbridge opened at 7.30am this morning. This is for residents and essential travel only.

Access will be via SH1 at the Selwyn River bridge and along Selwyn Lake Road. Traffic will be able to travel over the bridge and along Selwyn Lake Road in both directions.

Motorists should stay on Selwyn Lake Road through to Leeston Road. Side roads may be affected by flooding. Please keep speeds down for safety.

SH1 south of Selwyn Lake Road will remain closed due to the dangerous road conditions.

The Chamberlains Ford bridge on Leeston Road remains closed due to the safety of the bridge being compromised.

Multiple road closures and restrictions remain in place across the district.

Many of our roads and bridges have been damaged by the floods. Our engineers and contractors will be from first light this morning assessing roads and bridges across the district.

Waimakariri

Most evacuation warnings issued have been cleared across the District this morning. This means that apart from properties evacuated in The Pines Beach, Kairaki and Okuku areas there is no need to evacuate in any other previously identified areas.

People who did evacuate in these areas are able to return to their homes. Those people who were prepared to evacuate can also stand down apart from those in the Waikuku area.

Overnight six properties in the Okuku area were evacuated due to flooding. This area will be reassessed this morning along with The Pines Beach and Kairaki to check whether it’s safe for residents to return. The conditions in Waikuku will also be evaluated this morning.

Council staff and contractors will be further assessing roads, bridges and other infrastructure across the district. Additional pumps were placed at The Pines Beach and Waikuku and were operating through the night.

The welfare centre remains open at Rangiora Baptist Church.

Fire and Emergency NZ, NZ Police and the NZ Defence Force have been stood down from the Emergency Operations Centre and will to continue to provide support if required.

Council staff will be reviewing operations and working across the District to assess the damage and makes plans for the recovery work.