Fresh drone shots show extent of weather damage to SH1 near Kaikōura

Work is underway to repair and make safe State Highway 1 south of Kaikōura as a closure continues through today after severe flooding and road damage.

Photos show a section of the highway where one lane has been totally washed out.

Meanwhile, further south Waitaki District Council has lifted the local state of emergency declared on Monday.

State Highway 1 is closed from Cheviot to Kaikōura, with Inland Route 70/Inland Kaikōura Road also remaining closed.

People can travel as far north as Cheviot on SH1, but to travel to Kaikōura and further north, the longer inland route via State Highways 7, 65, 6 and 63 will be required.

A 'soft checkpoint' at Waipara is advising people of the limits of travel via SH1.

SH1 between Kaikōura and Ward (in Marlborough) reopened on Tuesday afternoon and remains open with some traffic management and reduced speed limits.

The expectation shared yesterday was that repairs on SH1 south of Kaikōura would take a couple of days before the road could reopen, meaning this closure will continue into the long holiday weekend.

An update on the likely reopening time is expected later today.

Those who are travelling for the long weekend/school holidays should factor into their planning this ongoing SH1 closure between Cheviot and Kaikōura, as well as the potential for any further closures due to flooding and slips following the heavy rain in recent days, the New Zealand Transport Agency says.

Some homes damaged

At least nine homes in Kaikoura have been damaged by flooding, including two which have been yellow-stickered.

Staff are inspecting properties today after the Kōwhai River burst its banks following heavy rain this week.

District Council Civil Defence controller Al Lawn says council teams are checking on people in isolated properties on the closed Inland Kaikoura Road.

He says the water-damaged properties are in small clusters around the town and will need to be further assessed.

Lawn says all of the evacuees sheltering at a local marae have now left.

Landslips on council radar

Council crews have been assessing landslips in Oamaru and Dunedin that caused 15 properties to be evacuated last night.

The slips happened on Irvine Road in The Cove in Dunedin and Glen Street in Oamaru, following days of heavy rain.

Emergency services evacuated eight Dunedin households and seven in Oamaru.

Waitaki mayor Mel Tavendale says at least two households in her district can't return for a while and the rest are returning as their properties dry out from flooding.

Meanwhile, State Highway 8 has reopened in the Mackenzie Basin after being closed because of snow and ice.

The Transport Agency says travel is being coordinated by convoy between Fairlie and Twizel because of the icy conditions.