Weather: ‘Significant rain event’ hits New Zealand, warnings of escalation [Video]

There are warnings heavy rain on the West Coast could escalate to a red warning as rain batters the region for the next couple of days.

Over 250mm of rain was recorded in the ranges of the Westland District from 8am Tuesday until 8am Wednesday. MetService has forecast less intense rain on Wednesday followed by intensifying weather on Thursday extending to other regions.

West Coast Emergency Management said this is a “significant heavy rain event” and there is an increased likelihood of escalation to a red heavy rain warning on Wednesday morning.

“Rain is settling in throughout Westland tonight and there’s a bit of surface flooding around. Heavy rain will continue overnight, through until around lunchtime tomorrow (Wednesday) and then it’ll ease before some more heavy rain early Thursday morning,” the emergency management group said on Tuesday night.

“We are continuing to monitor throughout the night and expect river levels …