A band of rain falling between Monday night and Tuesday night plunged Canterbury into the wettest July on record, with a third of the annual rain falling in a month. More than 70mm of rain had fallen in the 24 hours to yesterday afternoon.
On the back of the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River in Hoon Hay, Hamish Kingsbury said yesterday was the worst flood he'd ever seen on his street.
"I actually grew up four houses down so I knew what I was in for when I bought this place, and it always floods, but this is definitely the worst I've seen it," he said.
Kingsbury counts himself lucky to escape flooding with a house raised several metres, but others on his street were left to mop up drenched carpets and muddy yards.
"Our neighbours back onto the river and they have had it pretty high previously. I popped over this afternoon to have a look and it was probably 30cm off getting into their house."
Monika Cassidy had similar scenes at her house on Francis Avenue, just north of the city centre.
But with cars frequently passing through, the risk of her house flooding is heightened - and she wants the council to recognise that.
"When the street isn't closed, we still have cars coming through... cars carry on driving, which sends big waves to the houses that are lower to the ground."
Frustrated by the council's lack of urgency, her neighbours took matters into their own hands by parking a truck across the road to block access.
Edgeware resident Greg Hughey was surprised to make it home after driving his truck down the middle New Brighton Road, with metre-high pools of water on both sides
"I was concerned I was going to get stuck without a doubt. I went down to five kilometres an hour, and with oncoming traffic, people were also crawling through the water. It was up the door on the truck."
The Ōtakaro Avon burst its banks in sections shortly afterwards, worsening flooding across the central city.
Further south at Waimea Terrace, the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River also burst its banks, leaving residents trapped for the third time in three weeks.
Rather than staying indoors and wait for floodwaters to creep up, Amy Whiting decided to embrace the rain and walk her border collie along the street - but it eventually became too deep.
"There was places that were completely uncrossable, so definitely ankle-deep for where you could walk, but it would be over the gumboots on the normal paths."
Amy Whiting said she would be back out again today, despite even more rain being forecast for the city.
