Flooding

The clean-up continues for farmers whose land was flooded by the Mataura River in Southland. Jon Pemberton had 20 hectares of land under water at Brydone. When it receded he was left with a metre of… Audio

As flood-swamped Southland slowly drains and reopens, some people's first thoughts have been with their furry, four-legged friends.

While pets were lodged in special animal evacuation centres, other… Audio

And while the mop-up is underway for residents in Mataura, locals are rallying together to muck in and help.

RNZ reporter Sarah Robson put her gumboots on and went to check out how it's going. Audio

The clean up is underway in Southland after days of flooding and some people are just starting to understand the extent of damage to their homes and towns.

Authorities in Southland say up to 30 homes… Audio

People evacuated from the Southland towns of Mataura and Wyndham have not been allowed to return home tonight, because the flood risk is still too high. Meanwhile hundreds of Gore residents evacuated… Audio

It's been a day of limbo for people at evacuation centres in Gore. Hundreds of households were forced to move to higher ground, or seek shelter at four community centres, as the Mataura RIver lapped… Audio

RNZ Otago-Southland reporter Timothy Brown is at a cordon just south of Mataura, which is about halfway between Gore and Invercargill.

Residents there have heightened fears about the possibility of a… Audio

In Southland extreme flooding has impacted much of the region. RNZ reporter Katie Todd has just been in the latest Civil Defence briefing and joins Lisa Owen live from Invercargill. Video, Audio

Thousands of people in Southland towns, not just Mataura, have been forced to leave their homes following civil defence evacuation orders.

Residents in Gore, Wyndham and Mataura were told not to be… Video, Audio

In Southland extreme flooding has continued to cause havoc across the region for another day.

In Mataura, halfway between Invercargill and Gore, residents are angry after the looming threat of a… Video, Audio

RNZ reporter Tim Brown talks to Kathryn from the outskirts of Mataura, where emergency services have now evacuated, leaving no one behind. Audio

Residents in the Southland towm of Wyndham are the lastest to be told to evacuate thier homes as river water threatens to breach banks. They've been told to go east, not west. Three days of heavy rain… Audio

Residents in the Southland towm of Wyndham are being told to evacuate their homes amid rising river levels. Residents in Mataura are bracing themselves as the Mataura River approaches its highest… Audio

The whole of Southland is now in a state of emergency because of extensive flooding after two days of heavy rain. Bryan Crump speaks with Southland's mayor Gary Tong about what's happening and what's… Audio

A  break in the weather is allowing rescuers to attempt to evacuate 31 trampers stuck in a hut on the Routeburn Track this morning. Audio

Hundreds of people are trapped in Milford Sound after heavy flooding cut off the only road out.

A State of Emergency has been declared in Milford, Te Anau and Manapouri.

Locals say they have never… Video, Audio

A giant hand called Quasi made world headlines. Dane Mitchell's fake transmitting trees at the Venice Biennale were joined by a real fallen tree during flooding. Giant woven works by the Mata Aho… Audio

Around three hundred people on Papua New Guinea's Duke of York group are without homes after their houses were destroyed in last week's magnitude 7.5 earthquake. The quake has affected thousands in… Audio

The Indonesian Red Cross says people in the flood affected area of Papua Province are frightened as they evacuate from their villages destroyed by landslides and huge volumes of water following days… Audio