The flood followed a wet 10 days, culminating in the passage of an active front. Snow melt was also a factor. An intense westerly disturbance was accompanied by a high degree of humidity in the upper reaches of the Waimakariri River.

The Greymouth-Christchurch express was not running and the Otira-Christchurch excursion train was cancelled.

The Wairau River was in high flood and broke its banks, inundating large areas of Spring Creek and Tuamarina.

Stock losses were not heavy throughout the district.

Ferry Hotel at Tuamarina was invaded by water up to 4 ft (1.2 m) deep.

Three spans of bridge between Storeys Creek and Tuamarina were washed away. Nine 30 ft (9.1 m) spans of the Tuamarina railway bridge were washed away when floodwaters came over the rails.

The Wairau River at Tuamarina had a peak discharge of 107,000 cusecs (3,030 cumecs), not allowing for 40,000 cusecs (1133 cumecs) passing through breaches upstream.

Severe damage was done in the Murchison district.

Extensive damage was done by river erosion, especially in the Matakitaki Valley.

Murchison county damages totalled £11,480 = ($963,700 2008 dollars).

Roads were blocked in every direction.

The Motueka River was running bank high, and the approach to the bridge was broken.

The bridge over the Mangles River at Longford was washed away. Another bridge a few miles up the river was also swept away.

Murchison experienced a disastrous flood on the 5th, the highest flood on record.

The Buller River cut across a farm, following an old course. The milking shed and stable entirely disappeared and grassy paddocks were transformed into gravel and low-strewn wastes.

Telephonic communication was cut off.

Swollen rivers rose rapidly.

Farms were inundated by floodwaters.

Many roads were damaged. The road between Kumara and Hokitika suffered extensive damage from scouring.

Buller county roads suffered £7,320 ($614,000 2008 dollars) of damage.

The whole railway service north of Greymouth was dislocated. There were two washouts on the Greymouth-Reefton railway line.

Telegrah communication was interrupted all over the Coast. Telegraph communication between Greymouth and Westport was cut. The line was down for miles between Murchison and Inangahua Junction and there was no communication with stations south of Ross.

£50,000 ($4,197,200 2008 dollars) of damage was done.

100 head of sheep were reported lost.

There was a serious washout on the railway line at Aickens.

Blackball and the mine were isolated.

Several farms at Coal Creek Flat were inundated. Floodwaters left a scene of desolation, with debris brought down by the flood strewed everywhere. The land was covered by silt and sand.

Damage was done to fences by erosion.

The bridge over Doctors Creek, near Mangarata, on the main Nelson-Coast road, was washed away.

Fern Flat river rose 40 ft (12 m) above normal.

Low-lying parts of Greymouth were flooded by the Grey River on the 4th. A mass of muddy water came over the wharf and flooded the business portion of the town. The Boundary St area was flooded. All the low-lying country surrounding Greymouth was underwater, including the Omoto racecourse.

There was considerable dislocation of the railway services and considerable damage was done to railway lines and bridges. The Blackball railway and traffic bridge over the Grey River suffered severe damage, with three 80 ft (24 m) spans and two piers swept away, and was subsequently closed.

Floodwaters lapped the fences of properties in Cobden.

Cobden gardens were inundated to a depth of some inches.

The Grey Bar had a record depth of 35 ft 10in (10.9 m).

The flood throughly scoured the river.

The flood waters at Greymouth rose 4 in (10 cm) on the ebb tide.

The Hokitikia River was in high flood and was higher than it had been for five years.

Local flooding occurred in the town.

There was water 1 ft (30 cm) deep in the streets in the vicinity of the Hokitikia Post Office.

Boundary Street, Richmond Quay and Mackay Street were partly inundated through the flood waters backing up.

Floodwaters lapped over top of the caps of the Buller railway bridge. An enormous white pine 106 ft (32 m) long got across piers 11 and 12, knocking piers 12 and 9 in down stream, while pier 13 was scoured out and sank 1 ft (30 cm) on the upstream side,

The flood in the Inangahua River was the highest on record.

The Inangahua River rose 5 ft (1.5 m) in half an hour.

At Inangahua Junction, there was 4 ft (1.2 m) of water in the road foremans house, and water reached the top step of the hotel at the Junction.

A considerable amount of damage was done in the Maruia district by the floods.

The bridge over the Warbeck Stream was dislodged.

There was a washout on Matakitaki Road.

On the Reefton line there was a washout between Mawheraiti and Waimaunga.

Due to the rapid rise of the river in the Ngahere and Kamaka districts, many residents were forced to leave their homes.

Chairs, tables and other articles of furniture were carried out to sea by the roaring torrent.

Flooding washed out the track between Punakaiki and Brighton.

The bridge over the Rappahannock was washed away, leaving the road impassable.

Some bridges were washed away in the Reefton area. The town was isolated, with no communication by road or wire to Westport.

Several householders in Lower Broadway evacuated their homes.

Road damage throughout the Reefton country and conditions at Larry Creek were very bad.

There was a serious washout on the railway line at Rotomaunu.

The Dunollie-Rewanui railway line was cut.

The Buller River at Te Kuha had a peak discharge estimated at 270,000 cusecs (7646 cumecs).

At the confluence of the Tutaki and Tiraumea rivers, the Tutaki River had peak discharge of 4,980 cusecs (141 cumecs).

At the confluence of the Tutaki and Tiraumea rivers, the Tiraumea River had a peak discharge of 13,240 cusecs (375 cumecs).

Westport experienced its worst flood on record, the peak being higher than the 1950 flood by some feet.

The Buller River broke its banks, and practically the whole town was flooded.

Hundreds of people were rendered temporarily homeless.

At its peak height, the Buller River was 3 ft (91 cm) off the top of the combing.

The damage to Public Services in Westport amounted to £50,000 ($4,197,200 2008 dollars).

The Buller River was likely to have had a flow in excess of 12,000 cumecs - with the possible exception of the 1872 event, the highest anywhere in New Zealand in the last 150 years.

A number of huts near Belfast were swept away and demolished by the flood waters.

At Belfast, flood waters came near the hotel and swept down York Street, which was soon inundated.

At about 3am on the 5th, flood waters inundated the property of a Belfast trotting trainer, flooding the whole area to a depth of several feet within 15 minutes.

What was described as a wall of water descended on Coutts Island and the land about Chaney's Corner at about 4:40am on the 5th. The Waimakariri River broke its banks on the south side near Chaneys.

The floodwaters covered the land to a depth of 7-8 ft (2.1-2.4 m) in the space of a few minutes.

20 chains (400 m) of the railway line near Chaneys was undermined. Several deep wash-outs occurred.

Boats were used to rescue families from their flooded homes near the railway line. Some people had to shelter on the roofs of houses and sheds before they were rescued.

Thousands of acres of valuable farm lands along the river were flooded. Trees and houses jutted out of the flood waters.

Buildings were swamped and many people at Chaney's Corner were forced to leave their homes.

The water at Chaneys was over 8 ft (2.4 m) deep in places.

Many hundreds of acres of crops were ruined by the rushing water. Considerable damage was done to potato crops recently planted in the area, one farmer's whole crop being ruined. At one orchard, the store of apple cases were swept away.

A stretch of road 400 yards (366 m) long on the Christchurch side of the railway line at Chaneys was submerged.

The water on this stretch of road was 7 ft or 8 ft (2.1 m or 2.4 m) deep.

McMillan's store, at the railway crossing on Marshland Road, suffered a great loss when water flowed over the top of the counter and damaged stock. Water also flowed through the house. One resident lost a large supply of firewood from his property.

Mr J. Chaney, who had lived in the area for 40 years, said it was the biggest flood he had seen while living in Canterbury.

When the river broke its banks near Chaneys, parts of Belfast, Marshland and Mairehau were flooded.

The old stopbanks at Clarkville were under about 2 ft (60 cm) of water at 5am on the 5th.

A serious break occurred in the embankment erected by the Wright brothers, just above the cutting bridge, at 5:30am on the 5th.

The Main North Road and was covered with water for almost 3 miles (4.8 km).

All the land from the Empire bridge to within a mile of Kaiapoi was flooded to a depth of several feet.

Clarkville itself escaped flooding due to the recently constructed stopbanks.

A large area of newly planted potatoes was completely flooded.

What was described as a wall of water descended on Coutts Island and the land about Chaney's Corner at about 4:30am on the 5th.

Coutts Island went under 2.4 m of water after the Waimakariri River flooded.

Old residents in Coutts Island, including a resident of over 60 years, said it was the worst flood on record.

The part of Coutts Island near the Cutting bridge was the worst affected. On one property the house was surrounded by deep water and all the crops were lost.

Five baches were undermined and washed out to sea, along with a number of large pine trees growing on the bank.

All communication between Belfast and Kaiapoi by road and rail was stopped.

Kaiapoi escaped flooding due to the recently constructed stopbanks.

At Kairaki, five (or ten) weekend residences were swept away and washed out to sea.

The river at Kairaki was very swift, and was eating away at the sank bank there.

The waves in the river were 6 ft (1.8 m) high at 11:30am on the 5th.

Farms at Kowai Bush that had never been flooded before were underwater.

White's Bridge, on the way to Kaiapoi, was impassable due to flooding. It would be impassable for several days.

Flood waters on Marshland Road were up to 6 ft (1.8 m) deep.

The floodwaters from the Waimakariri River swept across the Ouruhia district and the back of Brooklands to the sea.

Potatoes and other root crops in the area suffered badly.

People had to be rescued from their houses, on the North Road and other places, by boats after water invaded their homes. Houses in Turners Road were entered by flood waters, forcing the occupants to leave.

At Oxford, the river was 6ft 6 in (1.98 m) above normal.

The Selwyn River was unfordable on the Main South Road on the 5th.

Houses in Spencerville were entered by flood waters, forcing the occupants to leave.

The Waimakariri River rose rapidly and broke its banks in several places on the morning of the 5th.

The Waimakariri River had an estimated flow of 125,000 cusecs (3540 cumecs).

The Waimakariri River was 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) above normal at the Gorge. This was 4 ft (1.2 m) higher than the greatest height reached by the river.

The Waimakariri River was said to have risen nearly 4.5 m above its normal level at the gorge bridge.

The velocity of the flood was 11 ft per second (12 km/hr).

The shrubs from the normal water level up to 20 ft (6.1 m) were completely swept away.

30 ft (9.1 m) of water above the bed was running from bank to bank.

The greatest recorded height of driftwood was about 18 ft (5.5 m) above normal water level.