Telegraph communication between North and South Islands was heavily delayed.

Flood waters were rapidly subsiding on the 8th.

There was generally little damage done.

There was severe flooding throughout the province.

One pile of the new Motueka Bridge subsided and traffic was suspended for a period.

Rivers around the town were in high flood.

The disasterous floods ("Old Man Flood") caused widespread damage.

The damage to roads and public works in the province cost £41,800 ($3,689,700 2009 dollars).

There was enormous damage to roads and bridges throughout the province.

There were washouts on the Picton to Wharanui rail lines.

The Ure railway and traffic bridge was swept away.

The Flaxborne bridge and Medway bridge were washed away,

The most severely inundated included Tuamarina, Spring Creek, Rosetown, Fairhall, Springlands and Riverlands.

A good deal of cattle and sheep were lost.

Flaxbourne and Medway Bridges over the Upper Awatere River were washed away.

There were large losses of stock.

Widespread damage to farms occurred.

The Blenheim railway yards flooded to a level 25 in (0.64 m) above the rail level (which was 11 in (0.28 m) above the level of the flood of March 1904).

The river burst its banks and floodwaters inundated Blenheim including the business area of town to a depth of 4 ft (1.22 m). Many houses in the low-lying areas were invaded with water.

There was serious damage to property in town.

Most of the shops were inundated and shopkeepers suffered heavy losses.

One owner lost £1000 ($88,270 2009 dollars) of stock.

At the eastern end of town many houses were flooded to a depth of 6 ft (1.83 m).

Telegraph lines were washed away and the telephone service was interrupted.

Stock losses were heavy.

All roads were blocked and impassable and there was no communication in any direction.

The flood was the highest on record.

A cart was swamped in Hucheson Street.

A draper had an estimated loss at £1000 (88,270 2009 dollars).

All rivers and streams on the plain contributed to the disaster which resembled the famous 1868 flood.

The flood was the severest within the memory of the present generation.

There was 3 ft (0.91 m) of water in the Ferry and Junction Hotels.

A number of corn stocks were swept away.

There was no road communication with Picton.

Large glass windows were smashed in shops.

A man and a boy went missing on the 8th and were feared drowned. On the way from Lower Wairau to Blenheim, their dray, horses and vest were found in deep water. Ther was still no sign of them on the 10th and they were feared dead.

At Springlands four drays were overturned and one horse drowned. At Hutcheson a cart overturned and two men spent 12 hours in tree before they were rescued. There were no reported injuries.

Thousands of bushels of peas, seeds and grain ruined by the water.

One case of 20 tons of sugar melted away.

The road from Blenheim to Kaikoura was impassable.

There were huge property losses.

The town is now protected by a detention dam.

This event and that of 1868 are the only two known occasions when the weather pattern changed from eastsoutheast to northnorthwest (or vice-versa) and brought major floods to both Wairau floodplain river systems.

A man drowned near Grovetown.

All bridges in the district were gone.

Numerous washouts occurred along the railway to Wharenui and caused a complete stoppage of railway traffic..

Wairau River broke its banks at Whitle's bend and inundated the whole of the Spring Creek district.

Railway line at Spring Creek was severely damaged.

Tuamarina farmers were isolated.

There was flooding in the lower Wairau River.

At 5 pm on the 7th the Wairau River had a peak discharge of 165,000 cusecs (4672 cumecs) at Tuamarina.

A large volume of water was escaping through the breaches above the railway bridge at Tuamarina.

The water level was within 2 ft (0.61 m) of the rail level at the bridge (which was 2 ft 2 in (0.66 m) higher than the flood of November 1906 and 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) higher than the flood of March 1904).

For a few days the face of North Canterbury was changed as creeks and rivers broke their bounds and floods covered the country.

There was colossal damage to public and private property.

Three spans of the Waiau Bridge were washed away.

Conway and Hurunui Bridges were destroyed.

Mail services were interrupted.

A large number of stock drowned including sheep, pigs and fowls and there were big sheep losses on river flats.

No part of the province escaped some loss through the floods.

The Ashburton, Selwyn and Hinds Rivers were in full flood, the Rakaia was very high and parts of Tinwald were flooded.

Floods in Canterbury caused very serious interruptions in the railway services of the province. The line between Rangiora and Waiau was flooded in a number of places. There were washouts on the Cheviot line in several place and a considerable length of the line between Wilson's Siding and Kaiapoi was underwater. Washouts had occurred all along the Waiau branch of the rail line and the Springfield services were interrupted. No trains were running on the north road, north of Kaiapoi and the Eyreton, Oxford and Cheviot branches were all blocked. The Methven branch was flooded between Cairnbrae and Lyndhurst from 3 ft (0.91 m) of water over the rails.

In the flooded areas, there are a large number of potato crops ruined.

The whole district between the Ashley and the Waimakariri River was flooded to an alarming extent and the majority of owners of the submerged houses fled for refuge.

There was much damage to the roads in this part of the Peninsula.

Slips and washouts were reported in almost every bay.

Bridges were down on the Valley Road. A temporary bridge was washed away at Le Bons on the main road near the factory.

Kowai River overflowed and Amberley was badly flooded. Water was 2 ft (0.61 m) deep over the main road. The surrounding country was also underwater.

The Railway Hotel was invaded to depth 3.5 ft (1.07 m).

A large number of business premises and private residences were flooded from a depth of 3 to 18 in (0.08-0.46 m).

The railway had washouts to the north and the south and there was extensive damage to the railway track and roads.

There were great stock losses, some farmers lost all of their sheep and cattle.

Dock stream was responsible for most of the damage. Water rushed into the township across the junction of the Douglas and Lawcock's Road to join the Kowai River.

Several householders had to leave their dwellings.

Paddocks of several farmers were completely covered to a depth averaging from a few inches to several feet.

Several thousand of pounds were required to restore the roadways to their pre-flood condition.

Business was completely disorganised.

Great losses of stock were reported. Some lost all their sheep or all their cattle.

The damage was severe at Arthurs Pass.

The Ashburton River was in high flood and all along the road from Ashburton to Rakaia, long stretches of the road and big areas of paddocks were submerged.

Longbeach, Waterton, Flemington, Eiffleton and other part in these localities were badly flooded and the road from Longbeach through Flemington and all through Wheatstone and Grabum Road was underwater.

The Ashburton Forks district suffered badly.

Great sheets of water were all over the roads from Green Street to Spreadeagle.

All creeks were flooded.

Some of the low-lying land near Belfast was underwater.

Selwyn River broke over the bank above Brookside and flooded a portion of the country side. Brookside suffered severely.

Several families were forced to vacate their houses.

Roads were impassable.

The bridge at the mouth of Hurunui River was swept away.

The river was in high flood and houses on the flat were invaded by water and all the low country was flooded.

Main road between Waipara and Cheviot was closed to traffic because bridges were washed away.

Cheviot recorded 10.56 in (26.82 cm) of rain in two days to 8:00am on the 7th.

There was 2 ft (0.61 m) of water in the Cathedral and Market (now Victoria) Squares and other low lying parts of the city were similarly swamped.

The north-eastern part of the city was so badly flooded that people had to be rescued from their homes by boats.

The water lay nearly 3 ft (0.61 m) deep in the west end of Hereford and Cashel Street and along Cambridge Terrace.

Sydenham suffered severely.

The country districts were inundated.

The drains had overflowed and filled the yards with stormwater and the Northcote road settlement.

The drains at the Northcote Settlement proved inadequate to carry off stormwater and overflowed and left half a dozen houses in the middle of a pond of water.

A portion of north-east St Albans was badly flooded.

In Clarence, two spans of bridge and the northern approach were washed away.

Clarence River diverted from the bridge to a new course 200 yards on the north side of the bridge.

Eyre River overflowed at Clarkville flooding all surrounding area.

There were heavy crop losses. One farmer lost 2000 bushels of grain which were stacked in his shed.

There was scarcely a house not surrounded by water.

In some instances there were houses submerged to a depth of 2 ft (0.61 m). Their occupants were removed to safety.

The country about Darfield was heavily flooded.

Hawkins River was in a state of flood and the Waireka was in a similar state. Both overflowed their banks.

There were stock losses reported.

On the Leeston side of Doyleston, the road and fields were a great sheet of water.

Boggy Creek was over its banks and a large expanse of water spread over the township at this part.

The flood caused much damage.

It was the worst flood experienced in Ellesmere district for 45 years.

Farmlands were flooded and stock losses were serious.

The store was carried some hundreds of yards.

The traffic bridge over Selwyn River was damaged and impassable.

4 ft (1.22 m) of water covered the Little River station, and all of Ellesmere was underwater.

The Eyre River was running bank high annd overflowed its banks in several places, flooding parts of Clarkville, Ohapuku, Waverley and the low-lying parts of Sneyd street, Kaiapoi.

The Eyre River broke its banks on the south side and flooded Eyreton.

A farmer lost 111 valuable stud sheep and 600 sacks of potatoes.

The rivers were in flood and the water lying in low level places was blocking traffic.

Hanmer Springs was completely cut off and was still isolated from telegraphic communication on the 9th.

A big volume of water was flowing down the main road from Hinds to Lynford. Between Hinds and Tinwald, large areas of land were submerged along with long lengths of the main road.

Hinds River was in high flood.

The Hinds River broke its banks near the Maimau traffic bridge on the 7th. There was flooding of considerable areas of land.

Hororata River flooded and water come down through the township and inundated stores. All the farm lying along the lower course of the Hororata were underwater.

There was severe damage to farms along the Hurunui River.

Boats were employed to take food to occupants of houses taking refuge in their upper floors.

Water in some houses was 4 ft (1.22 m) deep.

80 homes (approximately 320 people) in Kaiapoi were evacuated. Approximately half the population was rendered homeless.

There was severe damage to the Kaiapoi Woollen Company's mills which were flooded to a depth of 2ft (0.61 m). 2000 blankets were damaged and there was destruction to stocks of acids and ammonia and machinery.

The water was up to the mantelpieces of homes in some cases.

Floodwaters rose rapidly on the night of the 7th.

The north branch of Waimakariri River was sandbagged at 10:30am on the 8th but water broke through, flooding most of the towns streets.

Raven Street, parallel to Waimakariri River, was covered in water up to 4 ft (1.22 m) in places.

The school was closed due to inaccessibility.

Flood waters were receding on the 9th.

Rainfall at Kaiapoi for three days up to the 8th was 8 in (20.32 cm).

Water overflowed the banks on both sides of the Cam Bridge flooding all the low-lying land between the river and Ranfurly Street.

On the south side of the town, Eyre River flooded Sneyd, Broom, Otaki, Hugh and Akaroa Street.

From Kaiapoi to Woodend, the paddocks on either side of the road were severely flooded and many farmhouses were completely surrounded by water.

There was a great deal of damage to crops and agricultural land and also to houses in the area.

200 families were rendered homeless in Kaiapoi.

There was severe flooding along the Kaikoura coast.

Lyell Creek, fed from the overflowing Kowhai River, broke its banks to flood Kaikoura town. The residences near the banks of the Lyell Creek suffered heavily.

Parts of the town were under 3 ft (0.91 m) of water.

The approaches to Hapuka and Kowhai Bridges were washed away.

It was the heaviest flood in Kaikoura's history.

Middle Creek rose over the bridge making it impassable.

Shops and much stock was damaged.

The Long Creek sawmill was washed away and hundreds of cords of wood, with engine and sawbench were lost.

Kaikoura was isolated from both ends by washouts on the roads and washed away bridges.

Telegraph comunication was totally interrupted north of Kaikoura and west of Darfield.

Kairaki Flat was huge lake and was flooded by the swollen waters of Ashley and Little Ashley River.

All the roads in the district were flooded.

The Glenroy Bridge on the road to Lake Coleridge through Coalgate was washed away.

Kowhai River broke its banks and was rushing through the township. The water was rushing down the North Road in Leithfield, resulting in the flooding of several houses.

Heavy losses of stock were reported and one farmer in the district lost 400 sheep.

Railway traffic beyond Lincoln was suspended.

The railway line from the vicinity of Cairnbrae on towards Lyndhurst suffered severely.

Communication with Lyndon was entirely cut off because the telephone poles across the Mason River were carried away.

Upper Dog Creek bridge and the private bridge to Lyndon Homestead were washed away.

One farmer suffered a loss of 80 sheep.

There were extensive damage to wheat.

Longbeach and Methven reported that the potato and onion crops were under water.

Extensive damage was reported from the adjoining districts.

It was the worst storm to visit the district for a great number of years.

The road from Methven to Ashburton was impassable.

The flat was a sea of water and many fences were completely destroyed.

Peak discharge of Waimakariri River at Otarama was 28,000 cusecs (793 cumecs).

All the creeks were full and the oldest resident claimed to have never seen the Eyre so full.

The approaches to Coppers Creeks and the bridge were washed away.

The rains were the heaviest known for 30 years.

Much of the land was underwater.

The low-lying country in the region of the Pareora River was covered with sheets of water.

Stock and agricultural land suffered considerably.

Potato farmers sustained heavy losses.

Schools were closed throughout the district.

No trains were running beyond Rangiora.

Ashley River was impassable.

Ashley River peaked at 45,000 cusecs (1274 cumecs) at Rangiora.

It was the worst flood for 20 years. The surrounding country was a sheet of water.

The south-west side of Rangiora suffered considerably.

Houses were surrounded by flood waters. Water was rushing down John Street like a river. Southbrook was a sea of water.

There was no gas available in Rangiora on the night of the 9th owing to the Municipal gasworks being flooded.

Flood waters were receding from Rangiora township on the 8th.

A wide area of country was covered with water. Stormwater was overflowing the banks and all the low-lying lands were underwater.

There was a great volume of water rushing through Ashley, Blackett and Cone Street.

From Southbrook to the Cam River practically the whole of the low-lying land on either side of the railway area was a sea of water extending over miles of country.

The railway line which runs through the district was considerably undermined as the shingle was washed away. At Bennett's Junction the railway and road were underwater for about a mile and a half (2.4 km).

Eyre river broke through in six places on the north side at West Eyreton, Swannanoa and just above Burgess's ford with the result that all the country between this and the girder bridge was underwater. The main drain was overflowing on both sides above the stopbanks and flooding the whole of Flaxton down to Kaiapoi and on the other side through Ohoka down the the girder bridge.

There was a washout on the railway at Wilsons siding and Ohoka.

A lot of stock was lost.

Much grain and grass was destroyed.

There was over 3 ft (0.91 m) of water in one house.

One resident lost 100 cattle and another lost about 300 sheep.

Families in a dangerous position on the banks of the creek were rescued in carts.

A grazier between Saltwater Creek and the Ashley River had 100 head of cattle washed out to sea and a Waikuku settler lost 50 pigs.

At least one family (four people) had to leave their home.

3 ft (0.91 m) of water was in one store.

Sefton was partically isolated and a considerable portion of the railway line was damaged through washouts.

Sefton farmers suffered considerably through the loss of stock. One resident lost a number of valuable stud sheep and up to 150 sheep were lost from other farms.

The whole of Springston and Ellesmere districts was flooded after the Selwyn River broke its banks.

Selywyn River was running high and was two miles (3.22 km) wide at the Selwyn crossing.

Many farmlands around Selwyn River were flooded. Several families were removed to Dunsandel.

Residents state that it was the worst flood seen in the Selwyn River in 40 years.

Telegraph wires over the Selwyn came down and communication was cut. An iron telegraph pole fell across the Selwyn railway bridge and blocked the line.

For a total for the five days, South Malvern recorded 13.29 in (33.76 cm) of rain.

A pile was torn away from the Glentunnel Bridge causing it to sag and making it unsafe for heavy traffic.

There was considerable loss of stock in the low lying land.

Between Springfield and Arthurs Pass there were interruptions to the Midland Railway line and there was no communication from Arthurs Pass.

Near Otarama, six miles beyond Springfield, a large washout occurred on the railway line on the night of the 6th. 132 ft of railway line and sleepers hung suspended over a 60 ft chasm. The whole face of cliff had fallen in due to the continous rain and there were occasional further slides. One tunnel was also blocked and there wasw another big washout between two tunnels. The course of the river in that part of gorge was significantly altered by the falling earth. The railway line had to be deviated as it was impossible to replace the foundations. A huge amount of work was needed to restore the railway line.

The Opihi and Temuka Rivers overflowed their banks in several places.

At Temuka, the water was rushing across the road at the traffic bridge and all the low-lying lands from Fraser and Vine streets to the river were underwater.

In some places the water is up to the top of the wire fences. On the main road between Fraser Street and the river there is over 2 ft (0.61 m) of water.

Residents had to leave their homes.

Between Fairlie and Timaru there were some bad washouts.

Waiau and Mason rivers were seething torrents and the Mason overflowed at a point above the Waiau township.

A stream of considerable dimensions was rushing through meadow lands and along a road between the river and the township. On the other side of the township, at the foot of the terrace, there was a rushing torrent which spread out and completely inundated the tennis court and the flat land in the vicinity. The residents of the flats below the township who had been surrounded by water were removed to the township.

A number of telephone wires were out of commission.

On the railway line between Waiau and Rotherham there were four washouts each two chains (40 m) long.

On the Tongue, there was considerable damage done including washed out crops and destroyed fences.

One farmer lost 90 sheep.

There was severe damage in the Waiau district.

Floods had subsided considerably on the morning of the 9th.

River flats and grazing lands were stripped of vegetation and left barren.

At Lyndon No. 2 Settlement, the old, dried up watercourses were scoured out, fences were destroyed and willow trees 2 ft (0.61 m) in diameter were torn out by the roots.

Waikuku wool works were flooded to a depth of 8 ft (2.44 m) along with the flat land towards the sea.

People at Waikuku holiday resort were isolated until rescued by boat.

The face of the landscape was greatly altered by flood waters pouring out to the sea.

One store was carried for 100 yards on to the beach, one bach had similar fate and two bathing shelters were washed out to sea.

Waimakariri River was in high flood.

The Eyre branch line at Waverley was broken through by the floods and traffic was stopped.

Whole farms were still inundated on the 9th.

There were heavy stock losses.