Quake recovery efforts could be hampered by further bad weather with more heavy rain and southerly gales forecast for the Kaikoura coast and Wellington.
Flooding on SH1 north of Plimmerton near Wellington yesterday. Photo: NZTA
Rain caused extensive flooding and slips in the wider Wellington region yesterday and the capital was cut off for some hours, with roads closed and trains cancelled.
In Kaikoura on Monday, heavy rain and strong winds posed a risk of further slips and rockfalls in the quake-affected region.
MetService has issued a weather watch for Wellington for 65mm of rain in 12 hours from Wednesday afternoon through to Thursday evening and for Kaikoura from Thursday midday until Thursday evening.
"A large, complex area of low pressure lies over New Zealand, moving slowly eastwards today and during Thursday," MetService said.
It's also forecasting that cold south to southwest gales could become severe in Wellington, Marlborough and the Kaikoura coast on Thursday.