In Puniwhakau and Matau areas homes were isolated.

Washouts occurred and two bridges were washed away.

Extensive damage was done to roads and farms.

Slips and washouts blocked the Stratford Main trunk railway between Huiroa and Ngatimaru

The low lying valley was flooded.

The bridge over Douglas South Road was undermined.

Damage was serious but the flood was not as bad as the 1935 flood.

Telephone communication from Stratford was interrupted by stormy weather.

The road between Straford and Te Wera was blocked.

Roads were covered by flood waters in many places. Most of the roads from Huiroa to Kiore and from Douglas to Huiroa Saddle Road were underwater.

The ballast was washed out from under the line between Huiroa and Kiore and along Te Wera flat.

The roads between Kiore and Matau and between Kiore and Te Wera was blocked.

Considerable damage was done to the road at Kiore flat.

The Auckland to New Plymouth rail express was stopped at Whangamomona.

Some of the heaviest stock losses were in and around Makahu. Many sheep were washed away.

Many small private bridges were washed away.

Homes were isolated.

The Upper Mangaehu Road running eastwards from Makahu Village was more damaged than any other road.

Farms were lost to the river and many paddocks were ruined by silt and debris.

The bridge at Te Awa Road subsided 3 ft (0.91m) and the damage done was estimated at £400 ($36,600 2009 dollars).

Te Awa Stream at its peak was 30 ft (9.1m) wide and 20 ft (6.1m) deep.

Farms were damaged by deposits of silt.

Roads in the district suffered extensively through washouts.

Wairau River rose 12 ft 6 in (3.81m) above normal at Morrin's Hollow.

Branch Bridge on Tophouse Road was severely damaged.

Damage to Admiralty and Pukatea Bay was £4,450 ($407,000 2009 dollars).

Total damage throughout Marlborough Sounds was £6,500 ($595,000 2009 dollars).

Heavy rain from up country lead to Wairau River in high flood.

The river cut road communication between Blenheim and Nelson and between Blenheim and Picton.

There was extensive damage done to Wairau Bridge. Eight miles from Blenheim, piles of three spans were washed out, causing deck to subside and making the bridge unusable.

There was similar damage to the bridge over the Branch River where piles of one span was washed out but it remained open to light traffic.

The Wairau was running bank to bank and inundated the Blenheim to Picton highway at several points, making it unfit for traffic.

North Island motorists arriving by the Cook Strait steamer were marooned at Picton because hotels were already full.

All the houses around Admiralty Bay were affected to some extent.

A creek broke its banks and poured through a house with devastation force. The rooms in the house were piled up to the window sills with silt.

Warm north-westerly wind melted snow in back country ranges and brought heavy flooding to West Coast rivers.

The harbourmaster at Hokitika broadcast a warning early on the evening of the 14th that flooding could be epected between 10-11pm.

Soon after 10pm the river overflowed, first at the end of Bealey and Fitzherbert Streets.

Residents and busines people were forced to vacate premises hastily as the flood waters invaded.

It was a brief but serious flooding with a third of the town of Hokitika flooded to an average depth of one foot (0.3m).

Considerable damage was caused by water entering many houses and a few shops. There was much silt and mud deposited.

There was no loss of life.

At 10pm the river was running bank to bank at rate of 13 knots (24km/hr).

Water was approximately two feet from the decking of the three-quarter-mile long wooden combined rail and traffic bridge close to the heart of town.

A large number of gardens and lawns were completely under water.

Some houses were invaded to a depth of over two feet (0.61m).

Gibson's Quay, along the river front, suffered severely.

Weld Street became a small swiftly flowing river with water right up to top step of the Regent Picture Theatre.

At its peak, the flood was within 5 in (12.7cm) of the disastrous flood two or three years ago.

A house on McIntosh's Island in the centre of the river was practically submerged and a woman needed to be rescued by boat.

The flood broke the bank on the south side of river and covered Hokitika Aerodrome with water but no damage caused.

Water ceased to flow into town at approximately 11pm with turn of the tide, but didn't recede altogether until early on the morning of the 15th.

At one stage it was impossible for settlers to gain access to Arahura Valley district or to leave.

Kokatahi River burst its banks and inundated a large area of valuable grazing land.

It was reported that flooding in Kokatahi and Kowhitirangi districts caused considerable damage by erosion.

Stock losses were stated to have been large.

Both the Little Grey and Big Grey Rivers rose rapidly. Grey River was in high flood on the 14th and the 15th but had a sudden abatement at 11pm on the 15th.

Current was running at between 10 and 13 knots (19-24km/hr).

No flooding occurred in town.

Some areas of Grey Valley were inundated.

Most of the area from Ikamatua to Merrijigs and Rough Stream was cut off from the 13th to the morning of the 15th.

Road and bridges were covered by a sheet of water.

Some farmland was flooded.

Many Canterbury rivers were in high flood by the morning of the 15th.

Raikaia and Rangitata Rivers were swollen to an extent unknown for years, causing much damage.

Minor slips and washouts occurred in numerous places and several roads were blocked.

Excursion trains from West Coast to Christchurch were delayed.

It was impossible for motorists to use a portion of the highway between Bankside and Rakaia Bridge which was still under water on the night of the 15th.

On the West Coast route the fords were running high with flood waters, but traffic was able to go through.

Lewis Pass route was blocked at Springs Junction and access to the West Coast on this road was still impassable on the 16th.

The Waimakariri River carried a heavy volume but the banks stood up well.

Harper River had a peak discharge of 3180 cusecs (90 cumecs) at Lake Coleridge.

Damage in Geraldine County was light with only some fords to repair and scouring of roads.

The river caused damage to the Rakaia road bridge under construction and pylon casings for new railway bridge.

The new railway bridge under construction had damage worth £400 ($36,600 2009 dollars).

There was estimated that between £300-400 ($27,500-$36,600 2009 dollars) in damage was caused at the traffic bridge construction works.

The river reached its greatest height at approximately 3am on the 15th. At its peak the river covered the decking of the old wooden bridge for about 20 metres and overflowed its north bank.

The river formed a sheet of water 4 ft (1.22m) deep which blocked the Main South Road for for approximately 200 m and traffic had to detour. A considerable part of Greendale Road was also flooded.

At the south end of the river the bank was scoured out for approximately 20 metres, undermining the shingle screening and crushing plant. It left the crusher completely submerged and the screener a mass of wreckage.

Men and families living on the west side of the river were forced to leave their homes for an hour or two after midnight.

The river flooded four of the six workmen's huts on railway bridge to a height of 4 or 5 ft (1.22-1.52m).

Fowls kept by the workmen were drowned.

Debris, tree trunks and branches carried down by river caused considerable trouble with the wires of the railway telephone running along the bridge and some wires were broken.

A chest of tools at the bridge works worth £80 ($7300 2009 dollars) was carried away.

During salvaging a man came into contact with a 400-volt wire, he was thrown back against the foreman who fell over and was unable to move. They both received serious shocks but were not injured.

Rangiata River reached its highest level since 1913 with a peak discharge of 60,000 cusecs (1699 cumecs) at the irrigation intake.

Waters were at a peak level on the evening of the 14th.

Much of the plant used in traffic bridge construction was awash when flood was at its peak and a considerable quantity of timber was washed downstream.

A truck was capsized in the river and another truck at the south end of the bridge was embedded to the axle in river mud.

Water also caught a tractor engine, a tractor and a concrete-mixer.

At the south bridge much of the plant for construction of the new railway bridge was surounded by water but there was no great damage done.

The road to Rangitata Island was impassable on the evening of the 14th.

Water carried in the south branch of Rangitata River was probably the greatest on record.

Considerable damage was done to the contractors plant.

There was a wash-out on the rail line seven miles from Arthur's Pass on the Christchurch side of the ranges.

The washout delayed eight trains late on the night of the 15th. 1200 pasengers were delayed for one and a half hours.

Ashburton River reached its highest level for many years on the morning of the 15th.

In the south branch an electric power pole was carried away, breaking connections and leaving Mayfield and Ruapuna districts without power. It was not restored until the 16th.

The river broke its banks at Winchmore, flooding several paddocks of young grass, but no damage was reported.