Most of the region's rivers rose and increased pressure on the already full hydro lakes.

At their peaks the Shotover and Kawarau rivers were not expected to reach the 1978 flood level.

Southland experienced severe flooding in many parts of the region including Waiau, Aparima and Oreti catchments and to a lesser extent in the Mataura Catchment. Western parts of Southland, Tuatapere and Otautau were seriously affected.

Insurance industry payouts reached $45,800,000 ($131,000,000 2009 dollars).

Civil Defence Declaration from 27/01 to 09/02/1984 for the Southland region excluding Boroughs of Gore, Mataura, Bluff, Winton and County of Stewart Island.

Roads and railways were underwater, cutting the province off from the rest of New Zealand. Most state highways were closed and remained closed for a few days. 100 bridges were damaged.

There were substantial stock losses. Stock losses from the flood include 12,000 sheep, 100 cattle, 334 pigs, 75 deer.

170 km of fences, 52 farm bridges and 234 culverts were damaged during the flood.

Air services were suspended.

Road access throughout Southland was hazardous and generally restricted.

Evacuation centres were established.

Hundreds of cars were abandoned.

Timber mills in Invercargill and Otautau were devastated.

Damage was estimated at between $50,000,000 and $55,000,000 ($143,000,000 - $157,300,000 2009 dollars).

The floods affected thousands of people throughout the province, and left 1400 people homeless for months.

It was the third '100 year flood' in six years. It affected a different area than the previous two but was more serious, with a true return period of well over the 100 year mark. The return period could in fact by anything from 65 years to 1000 years.

Insurance payouts were higher than for any flood in New Zealand’s history to this time.

The entire Southland province was declared a disaster area.

Eastern Southland had 18 hours continous rain on the 26th. Farmers in the area had ample warning and worked throughout the day to shift stock. Stock losses were minimal in this area.

Flooded-out Southland home owners with Housing Corporation mortgages got speeded-up assistance. Others whose insurance payouts were not enough to repair damage receiveed " a sympathetic hearing" from the Corporation. Hosts who took in evacuees forced from their homes by the floods were eligible for a special benefit from the Department of Social Welfare, to help cover the expenses of having extra people in the house.

Ten schools did not start the school year until around the 7th February.

All telephone exchanges in Southland were back in operation on the 29th.

Local donations totalling more than $125,000 were made to the Southland flood appeal and the Government gave $1 million to the appeal on the 30th. By the 16th February, the flood relief fund had reached $2,674,576. A year later $5,650,000 had been donated from individuals, businesses and Government. The trustees were trying to help who had been left with nothing so they could return to their homes with the basic essentials.

There was damage done to power and sewage reticulation.

The floodwater would take months to recede.

There was no loss of life due to the flood.

Frustration grew among flooded-out Southland householders on the 30th as stringently applied health restrictions prevented them from cleaning up their homes. For health reasons, hundreds of people had to wait about a week before they could get back to even check their homes. For some it was months, not weeks, before their homes dried out enough for repairs. People lost all sense of purpose, because of the length of time it took to get their homes right. House holders claiming on their insurance could not throw away their ruined furnishings. Gardens displayed piles of sodden and contaminated goods. There was months of rebuilding. Families were camping in borrowed caravans or living in rented housing while their homes were first gutted and then refurbished. For some people, the strain was too much. They sold their properties at rock bottom prices and moved. Some people lost their jobs because their business had been flooded. There were terrible psychological effects on children.

50 percent of flooded householders were found to be either uninsured or under-insured.

In the first week of February it was found that 456 families would need temporary accommodation for up to three months.

Bluff emerged relatively unscathed, with damage confined to some roads and properties. Rising water flooded one house and torrents undermined roads, scoured lawns and washed out gardens on the 26th. Damage to residential housing was minimal.

There was a break in a sewerage pipe in the main street.

The borough lost its direct water supply from Invercargill.

Minimal damage occurred to some borough roads.

Water from three rivers, the Waihopai, Makarewa and Oreti, as well as the Waikiwi stream, combined with surface water from abnormally high rainfall to cause the worst flood Invercargill has ever experienced.

Civil Defence emergency was declared from the morning of 27/01 to to midnight of 15/02/1984 for Invercargill City.

Invercargill was inundated and houses, streets, factories and shops were underwater.

One estimate put the number evacuated from homes in Invercargill alone at more than 4000. In Gladstone there were 200 people evacuated from their homes. Some residents of Invercargill were out of their homes for one week or longer.

900 homes were flooded in Invercargill.

Stopbanks were breached.

Helicopters were used to rescue people stranded on roofs. People were plucked from the top of a bus and from fences where people clung precariously clear of the rampaging water beneath them.

All roading links were cut.

There was unprecedented flood damage at Invercargill on the 27th.

Water ponded to 4.00m depth at West Plains Road.

In Invercargill, more than 500 subscribers would have been affected by floodwater entering cables and flooding telephone equipment. About 4000 cable pairs had been affected by water.

Overloading of the stormwater drainage system was causing serious flooding in many parts of the city and in Otatara.

Householders in low-lying areas all over the city sandbagged their homes.

Stormwater entered the sewerage pipes and forced the effluent up through a manhole.

Hundreds of homes lay idle following the evacuations. Police were on duty throughout the night trying to keep people out of the areas affected. About 150 army personnel helped the police guard flooded areas night and day. There were no reports of looting.

There were no postal deliveries in Invercargill and many rural deliveries failed to get through. Many post offices around the region were closed.

Power was shut off to most of the Waikiwi area.

About 600 residents evacuated were allowed to return to their homes on the 29th.

Some flood victims in Invercargill were not be permitted to go back into their houses, even when water has receded. Health-wise, the main problem is raw sewage and the accompanying possibility. Safety-wise, the main concerns were possible electricity wires, short circuits, gas leakages and the formation of toxic gases from the reaction with water.

The bus service was running close to normal on the 30th. Apart from areas where roads were closed and access was impossible, the sevice was running to schedule.

There were 285 claims for emergency lump sum financial assistance for food and clothing from flood evacuees.

198 cattle were removed from the water by helicopter and lifted to dry land behind the Invercargill showground.

More than 1.25m of water swept through the buildings in the city.

There was no loss of buildings.

Possessions, such as furniture was destroyed because of the danger of contamination from sewerage. It was estimate that 5200 tonnes of household items had to be dumped.

The flood had caused the loss of more than $500,000 ($1,430,000 2009 dollars) of stock.

The factory and retail outlets had about 1 m of water throughout.

Sewage systmes were damaged in Invercargill and Bluff and could not be repaired until the flood level dropped.

In Waikiwi, there were about 300 homes caught in the flooding.

The water flooded in and rose at the rate of a meter in 25 minutes.

Floating debris was everwhere.

Oil and petrol joined the gungy brown water which invaded houses.

In all about 1000 of the 17,000 houses in the city and 3200 people have been affected by the floodings.

In one factory alone had damage which was estimated at $250,000 ($715,000 2009 dollars).

A mass of torn bitumen and debris lay strewn over the streets once the floodwaters had receded.

Water was ponding deeply on streets all over town.

The fire brigade was swamped by calls to pump water from homes and garages.

In the first week of March, it was estimated that under 15 percent of the 900 flooded homes had been fully restored and reoccupied. Up to 300 homes were still not dry enough for repairs to even begin it was reported.

More than 30 families were told that their homes could not be protected from future flooding and many chose to be relocated.

The airport was closed for approximately three weeks. About 10 Southland Aero Club, topdressing and private aircraft were covered with water at the airport. Movements in and out of Invercargill Airport did not return to normal for approximately three months.

Invercargill airport was flooded to a depth of over 2.5 m. It was nearly 1.5 m deeper at the airport than in the 1978 flood.

There was an unconfirmed report of 600 lambs being lost behind the airport.

More than 20 cars in the airport car park were virtually submerged.

Several sheep huddled between the planes. They were nearly dead.

The flood level at Invercargill airport dropped 300 mm (30 cm) on the 29th.

The airport was the last area to clear of floodwater and this took up to three weeks.

There was flooding of many rural farms and damaged industrial buildings in Kennington after the Waihopai river flooded.

The Makarewa River flood was the largest on record. It had an annual exceedance probability of between 1 and 2% (between a 1 in 50 or 1 in 100 year event).

The Makarewa River had a peak discharge of 785 cumecs.

At Mandeville it was reported that less than 20 sheep drowned.

Mataura River had an annual maximum flood discharge of 840 cumecs on the 28th.

The Oreti River at the Riverton Highway Bridge had a peak discharge of 1618 cumecs.

130 people were evacuated from Otatara.

Road and rail links were cut. The flooding over the airport and the road beside it cut Otatara off from the city.

The telephone line was out.

A helicopter pilot was called on to rescue 170 cows.

Flooding which was threatening the airport, caused the evacuation of 20 homes in Otatara.

830 people were evacuated from Otautau.

Problems were encountered with the Otautau telephone exchange.

Floodwaters began to recede from the township on the 28th.

Fine silt up to five millimetres thick lined the walls and floors of houses and smothered everything left lying in the water.

20 of the 42 houses which had water through them were passed for reoccupation on the 29th.

A 32 hectare deer farm, lost 40 hinds and fawns in the flood, about $60,000 worth of deer fences were also ruined.

The flood swept through two-thirds of the town.

The water gushed down the main street tearing up the bitumen, pouring into the businesses and homes of about 300 people.

People took 50 children into their homes for a week while work was carried out at Otautau School.

The state of emergency was not lifted until 2nd February. About 900 people in Otautau were effected by the flood.

In the first week of March, it was estimated that of the 186 homes flooded, only 9 had been fully repaired.

175 people were evacuated from Tuatapere.

About 70 houses had been evacuated. Of these 37 homes had water through them.

The cost of repairing damage to access roads around the coast was estimated at $350,000 ($1,000,000 2009 dollars).

Three of the townships 5000-gallon storage tanks were washed away.

The pump station was knocked out.

The walls of homes became saturated and wouldn't dry out in six months.

Tuatapere had scant warning of the flood.

There was broken furniture, mud-sodden houses and silt everywhere.

In the first week of March it was estimated that only 10 out of the 37 flooded homes had been fully restored and reoccupied in Tuatapere.

Largest flood experienced in the Waihopai River to that time occurred on the 27th and caused major damage in the city of Invercargill. It had a peak discharge of 140 cumecs.

Floodwater breached the Waihopai River stopbank in three places.

Stewart Island residents worked all through the night to cope with the continual heavy rain which caused flooding in low-lying areas in Halfmoon Bay.

At least two sections of road was damaged. The road was open to one way traffic.