Heavy rain is drenching parts of the South Island this morning, with MetService saying surface flooding and slips are possible.
MetService has issued a severe weather warning for northern Fiordland, Westland, the Otago headwaters and northwest Nelson.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7730298/Warning-of-flooding-as-heavy-rain-falls
Trees are being uprooted and parts of roofs are falling off buildings in Wellington as the wind which has gripped the capital overnight intensifies.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7638643/Winds-forecast-to-hit-140kmh
Motorists are being urged to take care as gale-force winds batter the lower North Island and inland South Island.
MetService severe weather forecaster Andy Downs said the strongest winds overnight were recorded in the Wellington suburb of Kelburn, where a 130km/h gust struck about 3am.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10832326
A severe weather watch is in place for Canterbury today, after Christchurch was hit by freakish weather last night leaving conservatories damaged and lifting a roof off a house.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/severe-weather-watch-after-amazing-storm-in-chch-5063477
A severe weather warning is in place as heavy rain is expected to lash western New Zealand today.
Buller, Nelson and Marlborough were experiencing heavy rainfall this morning, while “anywhere in the North Island from Taranaki up to Bay of Plenty” could also expect to be drenched today, MetService duty forecaster Heath Gullery said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7599312/Parts-of-country-brace-for-drenching
No mention of Auckland – but the rain is very heavy as I post this…
Twelve people were killed and 10 were missing after a strong typhoon pounded South Korea on Tuesday, uprooting trees, sinking ships and cutting power to almost 200,000 homes.
By early evening, Typhoon Bolaven — the strongest to hit the South for almost a decade — had moved to North Korea, which is still struggling to recover from deadly floods earlier this summer.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1222580/1/.html
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm, with 120 kph winds, had gained strength as it moved over the warm, open waters of the gulf. It was expected to reach the swampy coast of southeast Louisiana by early Wednesday local time (late tonight NZ time).
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10830138
At least 27 people have been killed during a typhoon which swept across northern provinces of Vietnam over the weekend, officials have said.
Two people drowned as Tropical Storm Helen gained force and moved along the length of the largest Philippine island of Luzon, authorities said Tuesday.
The storm, known internationally as Kai-Tak, was expected to reach the extreme northern part of the island Wednesday, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.
Authorities are keeping a close eye on swollen South Canterbury rivers as the heavy rain that threatened stopbanks and brought extensive surface flooding to the region eases.
A severe weather warning remains in place after 130-230mm of rain fell in the South Canterbury foothills since Monday night.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10823753