Schools and roads throughout the region have been forced to close today, and there have been a number of evacuations throughout the West Coast. "I called a state of emergency, the reason for that is that we've lost the Waiho Bridge at Franz Josef, it's been demolished," Smith said. Meanwhile, an Emergency Coordination Centre has been set up at the West Coast Regional Council in Greymouth. Rainfall is expected to ease from South Westland from midnight, Civil Defence West Coast said. west_coast_road_closed_nzta_1.png The black line showing where State Highway 6 is closed on the West Coast.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 25, 2019 18:32 UTC