Weather

Northland Federated Farmers president and sheep farmer John Blackwell is calling on the government to declare a drought in his region.  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

Desperate and stressful - that's how water companies in Auckland are describing severe shortages crippling some families on tank supplies.

There are a limited number of refill pumps for water… Audio

Two weeks on from Cyclone Tino, Tuvalu is still reeling from the devastation wrought. 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

People in the Southland towns of Gore and Mataura have been told to evacuate their homes as the Mataura River levels continue to rise.

After three days of heavy rain the river is running between four… Audio

Southlanders have been pitching in helping stranded tourists after flooding cut off State Highway Six, south of Queenstown. 

Laura Douglas - from the small town of Kingston at the bottom of Lake… Audio