New Zealand flooding: state of emergency in Canterbury, with hundreds evacuated

The MetService has issued a red warning for heavy rain in Canterbury and multiple warnings elsewhere

Hundreds of people have been evacuated and many more face the risk of abandoning their homes in New Zealand's Canterbury region as heavy rains raise water levels and cause widespread flooding.

A state of emergency was declared for the entire Canterbury region and at least 300 homes were evacuated overnight as water levels rose in rivers across the region in a one-in-100-year deluge", local media reports said on Monday.