A strong M6.3 earthquake struck 40 km (25 miles) north of Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand, at 21:14 NZST (09:14 UTC) on July 16, 2026, according to GeoNet. NEMA issued a National Advisory for tsunami activity for the western South Island coast from Milford Sound to Puysegur Point after the earthquake. The agency canceled the advisory after Earth Sciences NZ detected no tsunami signals for about two hours.
A local state of emergency was declared in the Waitaki District after flooding affected Ōamaru, New Zealand, early July 6, 2026, as heavy rain, snow and strong winds disrupted parts of the South Island. A Red Heavy Rain Warning is now in force for Marlborough and Canterbury between Ward and Hanmer, and southeast of the Awatere Valley, including the Kaikōura ranges.
A front preceded by a strong, moist north to northwesterly flow is forecast to bring up to 250 mm (9.8 inches) of rain to parts of New Zealand’s South Island and severe wind gusts up to 130 km/h (81 mph) in exposed parts of the Canterbury High Country from Friday, July 3, to Saturday, July 4, 2026.
A significant rain event is expected to impact western parts of the South Island, New Zealand during the next few days. Severe weather forecasters have already issued Orange Heavy Rain Warnings for parts of Westland and Fiordland with Heavy Rain Watches also in…
The New Zealand MetService has issued a rare Red Warning for Heavy Rain for the Canterbury region of South Island for the weekend. Meteorologists warn this could be the most significant rainfall for the region in 10 years. Heavy rain is also expected over other…
A major landslip is on the move in Central Otago, New Zealand, prompting authorities to shut the southbound lane on the Cromwell-Clyde Road on SH8 on July 14, 2020. Helicopters with monsoon buckets were delivered from Queenstown to dump water on the slip in an…
Thousands of residents in South Island, New Zealand, were forced to evacuate their homes on Wednesday morning, February 5, 2020, after severe flooding hit the region, prompting officials to declare a state of emergency. The severe weather also left hundreds of…
MetService recorded nearly 100 000 lightning strikes in 24 hours over South Island, New Zealand, leading up to Saturday morning, December 7, 2019. Some of the strikes were associated with severe storms over Westland, the agency said. The West Coast has also been…
A severe storm brought extremely heavy rain, strong winds and high elevation snow to New Zealand's South Island and lower North Island on November 7 and 8, 2018. In just 57 hours, parts of the region received 652 mm (25.6 inches) of rain – more than it usually…
Remnants of Tropical Cyclone "Fehi" slammed into New Zealand's South Island on Thursday, February 1, 2018, and combined with king tides to trigger heavy flooding in some regions. Numerous trees and power lines were downed as winds up to 140 km/h (87…
