Kaikōura local feels 'sick' remembering 1993 flood amid current deluge

A Kaikōura woman whose business was flooded more than 30 years ago says today's deluge feels ominously similar.

A state of emergency has been declared for the Kaikōura district after the Kowhai River breached its banks.

Civil Defence says people should evacuate immediately from parts of Kaikōura and go to higher ground amid a red rain warning for parts of Marlborough and Canterbury, including the Kaikōura ranges.

Janice Dreaver was trapped and had to be rescued from the supermarket she ran when the Kowhai River burst its banks and swept through Kaikōura in 1993.

She said the rain felt as heavy and persistent as when the town flooded back then.

"I feel really, really sick for what could happen and the consequences of that are just devastating," she said.

"I'd already gone to check the river this morning and the Kowhai was absolutely bank to bank and roaring. It was Lyell Creek that came into the back end and blew itself out through the West End in '93 and we had a supermarket in town, so it just took us out and we were actually rescued by the fire brigade in wetsuits and jet boats.

"It was pretty serious then and I'm hoping it doesn't get to the West End, but our emergency texts have said that it's expected to follow the path of '93. It's just a waiting game to see if it breaks itself down over the varying miles of paddocks and farms before it actually starts to find its way to Lyell Creek, which is the threat."

Dreaver said diggers had been working frantically to open the mouth of Lyell Creek.

Her real estate business and others had been evacuated.

"We've had good warnings, which we didn't have last time and so I'm confident that we're in a position of getting good information and keeping high and dry but it's really scary because these rivers rise so quickly and all of a sudden you're so threatened," she said.

Dreaver said the lack of warning in 1993 added to the danger.

"We got a very weak report that we could expect a bit of water in the West End and not to be concerned and within two hours it was pumping down through town," she said.

"It was just chaotic. We were wiped out within about two hours of that water coming through and everyone was trapped in their businesses in town. We were lucky no one lost their lives but we lost a lot. We lost a lot because we weren't prepared.

"That's why I'm very grateful for the response we've had to date, that they're warning people to evacuate. They're telling people to get to higher ground. They're giving people the emergency signals. We have learned a lot from '93."