198:, another effect of climate change. Harrington predicted that such atmospheric rivers would become more intense and frequent throughout the world as a result of climate change. The Buller and Marlborough Regions were more vulnerable to stormy weather since their geographical location meant they were trapped between incoming moisture-laden atmospheric rivers and the
108:, which is 1.1 Celsius warmer than the 1981–2010 average. According to NIWA meteorologist Chris Brandoloni, the previous month of June 2021 was the warmest recorded, and that the first seven months of the year were also the warmest since records began in 1909. Brandoloni attributed the extreme rain and heat events to
119:
also experienced the country's largest flood flows since 1926 as a result of the deluge. Parts of the West Coast experienced 300 mm (12 in) of rain over the weekend of 17–18 July, roughly a month's average rainfall. The heavy rain causes rivers to break their banks and landslips, leading to
273:
The event resulted in $ 140.47 million dollars of insurance claimed damage in New
Zealand. Of this, $ 97.2 million was in the West Coast region, $ 17.88 million was in the Wellington region, $ 17.35 million was in the upper South Island, and $ 8.04 million was in the rest of the North Island.
259:
The flooding caused millions of dollars in damages and damaged 563 homes in
Westport; with 70 being red stickered and 393 being yellow stickered. By mid-October 2021, 450 Westport homes remained uninhabitable or damaged with 140 residents in temporary accommodation. In July 2022,
255:
Mayor Jamie Cleine reported that 22 homes in the district were still "red stickered," meaning that residents could not return home to live before repair work was done. A hundred people still remained the area's three evacuation centres (one of which was a school).
419:
146:
experienced well above average rainfall (more than 149% of the normal rainfall). Parts of the
Marlborough Region recorded more than 300 mm (12 in) of rain in the 48-hour period between 16 and 18 July. Onamalutu, just west of
250:
On 20 July, West Coast
Emergency Management reported that 89 houses in the region had suffered severe or total damage (red category) and 400 had suffered moderate damage as a result of the torrential rain and flooding. By 21 July,
503:
787:
104:(NIWA), large areas of New Zealand experienced above normal rainfall and above normal temperatures in July 2021, making that month the sixth-equal warmest July on record. The mean temperate for July 2021 was 8.9
842:
910:
819:
620:
330:
submitted a NZ$ 54 million business case for the West Coast region which includes investing in flood walls, subsidising people to move from flood-prone areas, and investing in
Westport's stormwater system.
264:
reported that over 400 homes in
Westport had not been fully repaired since the floods that struck the city in July 2021. Of the 563 flood damaged homes, just over 100 had fully completed their repairs.
751:
545:
387:
409:
686:
1163:
452:
294:
helicopter. Defence Force personnel conducted emergency food drops to rural areas, cooked for up to 300 emergency responders, and assisted with the evacuation of over 800 properties.
584:
719:
513:
101:
885:
298:
777:
234:
On 19 July, a state of emergency was declared in the
Marlborough Region. Nine hundred people were evacuated across 500 properties in the region, including properties in
852:
920:
809:
610:
1153:
1292:
741:
535:
377:
1282:
654:
676:
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1143:
960:
442:
309:
115:
The extreme rain event of 15–18 July brought over 690 mm (27 in) of rain to parts of the West Coast Region in under 72 hours. The
1272:
574:
53:
were the result of a torrential rainstorm that affected central New
Zealand between 17 and 18 July 2021. This storm led to flooding in the
709:
1104:
238:, Spring Creek, and Tuamarina. Dozens of roads were closed in the region, and an order to boil drinking water was instated in the
875:
316:
1252:
1184:
1056:
1262:
1205:
1049:
242:. Deputy Mayor Nadine Taylor described the 2021 flood as the region's largest recorded flood, exceeding the 1983 flood.
327:
291:
231:'s 4,600 residents were evacuated that same day. By 18 July, 1,000 displaced residents were still unable to return.
139:
1277:
953:
283:
216:
1138:
190:
Climate expert Dr. Luke
Harrington also attributed the heavy rain in the West Coast to climate change and an
1076:
1069:
1034:
1024:
323:
195:
136:
85:
54:
646:
1039:
782:
746:
681:
414:
410:"Wild weather: State of Emergency, Army deployed after torrential rain on West Coast of the South Island"
1158:
1081:
1029:
228:
220:
1231:
1225:
1119:
1096:
1002:
946:
235:
148:
1086:
128:
194:
carrying moisture from the tropics. The high rainfall was also exacerbated by warmer than average
305:
155:
recorded 103.5 mm (4.07 in) on 16 July. River levels within the region jumped with the
124:
74:
66:
312:
351:
1112:
1061:
1014:
1009:
983:
880:
814:
579:
477:
443:"Severe weather: Entire towns evacuated in Marlborough, while West Coast, Wellington hammered"
191:
180:
78:
172:
504:"Canterbury floods: State of emergency in Ashburton and Timaru, thousands of homes at risk"
915:
847:
714:
540:
508:
382:
261:
252:
132:
89:
62:
58:
810:"Westport and Buller prepare for heavy rain, locals warned to avoid non-essential travel"
227:
township in the
Marlborough Region on the evening of 17 July. In addition, about half of
184:
441:
Fyle, James; Ensor, Jamie; Henry, Holly; Speedy, Juliet; Reidy, Madison (17 July 2021).
969:
152:
109:
1246:
611:"New Zealand west coast hit by heavy floods after month of rain falls in one weekend"
239:
199:
176:
647:"New Zealand – Emergency Declared as Hundreds Evacuate Floods in Marlborough Region"
615:
168:
156:
116:
70:
536:"Auckland flooding: Piha man wakes to find pre-fab house floating in front of him"
502:
Gates, Charlie; Guildford, Jonathan; Porter, Nadine; Sherwood, Sam (30 May 2021).
843:"Between two rivers and the sea: Westport's long history of catastrophic floods"
301:
143:
778:"West Coast flooding: Clean-up continues in regions battered by severe weather"
378:"Thousands of flooding evacuees asked to stay put until flood waters recede"
224:
160:
911:"More than 400 homes still not repaired one year on from Westport floods"
447:
105:
287:
742:"West Coast flooding: 489 homes damaged, 153 people still displaced"
164:
73:, prompting the evacuations of residents and the declaration of a
938:
575:"July weather extremes: Floods, high temperatures and dry spells"
376:
Lourens, Marine; Allott, Amber; Broughton, Cate (18 July 2021).
942:
215:
As a result of the flooding, 430 residents were evacuated from
163:
reaching almost 9 m (30 ft) and a peak flow of 6,040
604:
602:
151:, recorded 212 mm (8.3 in) of rain on 17 July while
710:"Insurers brace for rush of claims after South Island floods"
677:"Climate change and recent flooding: What you need to know"
771:
769:
319:
stated that it would take months to clean affected homes.
282:
In response to the flooding in the West Coast Region, the
905:
903:
876:"Westport flood: 450 homes still unlivable or damaged"
187:) also experienced above average levels of rainfall.
202:, causing the air to compress and the rain to fall.
102:
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
84:
The floods came nearly two months after flooding in
1195:
1174:
1128:
1095:
992:
976:
286:deployed more than 30 personnel and soldiers, four
39:
31:
23:
569:
567:
565:
563:
315:also announced financial support for farmers. The
123:In addition to the West Coast, the South Island's
346:
344:
308:600,000 in emergency aid to affected regions.
954:
8:
640:
638:
304:announced that the Government would provide
18:
961:
947:
939:
17:
88:and just over a month before flooding in
482:ICNZ | Insurance Council of New Zealand
340:
822:from the original on 15 February 2022
7:
888:from the original on 2 November 2022
472:
470:
1293:History of the Marlborough District
623:from the original on 13 August 2021
587:from the original on 11 August 2021
548:from the original on 30 August 2021
120:the evacuation of 2,000 residents.
841:Allott, Amber (12 February 2022).
14:
874:Gee, Samantha (14 October 2021).
790:from the original on 26 July 2021
754:from the original on 26 July 2021
722:from the original on 18 July 2021
689:from the original on 23 July 2021
657:from the original on 19 July 2021
455:from the original on 18 July 2021
422:from the original on 18 July 2021
390:from the original on 18 July 2021
352:"July 2021 South Island Flooding"
299:Minister for Emergency Management
1283:History of the West Coast Region
708:Taunton, Esther (18 July 2021).
645:Davies, Richard (19 July 2021).
317:West Coast District Health Board
51:2021 central New Zealand floods
1288:History of the Tasman District
919:. 15 July 2022. Archived from
609:McClure, Tess (19 July 2021).
1:
1268:Weather events in New Zealand
1258:2021 disasters in New Zealand
776:Gabel, Julia (21 July 2021).
77:. Flooding also impacted the
1273:July 2021 events in Oceania
478:"Cost of natural disasters"
328:West Coast Regional Council
292:Royal New Zealand Air Force
1309:
1221:
284:New Zealand Defence Force
167:on 17 July. Parts of the
196:sea surface temperatures
324:Buller District Council
310:Minister of Agriculture
159:at Barnett's Bank near
19:2021 New Zealand floods
1253:2021 floods in Oceania
1105:Bosnia and Herzegovina
783:The New Zealand Herald
747:The New Zealand Herald
682:The New Zealand Herald
415:The New Zealand Herald
96:Meteorological history
1263:Floods in New Zealand
335:Notes and references
246:Homes and structures
1213:Central New Zealand
855:on 13 February 2022
818:. 2 February 2022.
297:On 18 July, Acting
35:central New Zealand
20:
923:on 11 January 2023
544:. 31 August 2021.
322:In July 2022, the
125:Marlborough Region
75:state of emergency
67:Marlborough Region
1240:
1239:
1206:Eastern Australia
1149:Pacific Northwest
881:Radio New Zealand
815:Radio New Zealand
583:. 4 August 2021.
580:Radio New Zealand
192:atmospheric river
181:Wellington Region
100:According to the
47:
46:
1300:
1278:2021 meteorology
1050:South Kalimantan
963:
956:
949:
940:
933:
932:
930:
928:
907:
898:
897:
895:
893:
871:
865:
864:
862:
860:
851:. Archived from
838:
832:
831:
829:
827:
806:
800:
799:
797:
795:
773:
764:
763:
761:
759:
750:. 20 July 2021.
738:
732:
731:
729:
727:
705:
699:
698:
696:
694:
685:. 21 July 2021.
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667:
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628:
606:
597:
596:
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592:
571:
558:
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553:
532:
526:
525:
523:
521:
512:. Archived from
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493:
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488:
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465:
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460:
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432:
431:
429:
427:
418:. 17 July 2021.
406:
400:
399:
397:
395:
373:
367:
366:
364:
362:
348:
269:Insurance claims
173:Northland Region
43:$ 140.47 million
21:
1308:
1307:
1303:
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1299:
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375:
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360:
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350:
349:
342:
337:
313:Damien O'Connor
280:
271:
253:Buller District
248:
213:
208:
171:(including the
153:Tunakino Valley
133:Tasman District
98:
63:Tasman District
59:Buller District
40:Property damage
27:17–18 July 2021
12:
11:
5:
1306:
1304:
1296:
1295:
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1189:
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1172:
1171:
1169:
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1167:
1166:
1161:
1156:
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1146:
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1135:United States
1132:
1130:
1126:
1125:
1123:
1122:
1120:Central Europe
1117:
1116:
1115:
1107:
1101:
1099:
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1079:
1074:
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1054:
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1044:
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1032:
1027:
1019:
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1017:
1007:
1006:
1005:
996:
994:
990:
989:
987:
986:
980:
978:
974:
973:
970:Floods of 2021
968:
966:
965:
958:
951:
943:
935:
934:
899:
866:
833:
801:
765:
733:
700:
668:
634:
598:
559:
527:
516:on 3 June 2021
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356:hwe.niwa.co.nz
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110:climate change
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45:
44:
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37:
36:
33:
29:
28:
25:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
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2:
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1175:South America
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1154:South Central
1152:
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1129:North America
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906:
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811:
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770:
766:
753:
749:
748:
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734:
721:
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688:
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389:
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295:
293:
289:
285:
277:
275:
268:
266:
263:
257:
254:
245:
243:
241:
240:Wairau Valley
237:
232:
230:
226:
222:
218:
210:
205:
203:
201:
200:Southern Alps
197:
193:
188:
186:
182:
178:
177:Bay of Plenty
175:, the inland
174:
170:
166:
162:
158:
154:
150:
145:
141:
138:
134:
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126:
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56:
52:
42:
38:
34:
30:
26:
22:
16:
1230:
1224:
1212:
999:Afghanistan
925:. Retrieved
921:the original
914:
890:. Retrieved
879:
869:
857:. Retrieved
853:the original
846:
836:
824:. Retrieved
813:
804:
792:. Retrieved
781:
756:. Retrieved
745:
736:
724:. Retrieved
713:
703:
691:. Retrieved
680:
671:
659:. Retrieved
650:
625:. Retrieved
616:The Guardian
614:
589:. Retrieved
578:
550:. Retrieved
539:
530:
518:. Retrieved
514:the original
507:
497:
485:. Retrieved
481:
457:. Retrieved
446:
436:
424:. Retrieved
413:
404:
392:. Retrieved
381:
371:
359:. Retrieved
355:
321:
296:
281:
272:
258:
249:
233:
217:Spring Creek
214:
189:
185:Kāpiti Coast
169:North Island
157:Wairau River
140:high country
122:
117:Buller River
114:
99:
83:
71:South Island
50:
48:
15:
1232:2022 floods
1226:2020 floods
1040:Uttarakhand
1035:South India
1025:Maharashtra
859:25 February
826:25 February
552:3 September
302:Kris Faafoi
211:Evacuations
144:North Otago
1247:Categories
1202:Australia
1077:South Asia
1046:Indonesia
1030:Saurashtra
927:30 January
892:28 January
487:27 January
361:20 January
183:, and the
137:Canterbury
86:Canterbury
79:Wellington
65:, and the
55:West Coast
1164:Northeast
1159:Tennessee
1082:Sri Lanka
1070:Islamabad
1066:Pakistan
693:17 August
661:17 August
651:FloodList
627:17 August
591:17 August
278:Responses
225:Tuamarina
161:Tuamarina
1057:Malaysia
1003:Nuristan
886:Archived
820:Archived
788:Archived
752:Archived
720:Archived
687:Archived
655:Archived
621:Archived
585:Archived
546:Archived
453:Archived
420:Archived
388:Archived
326:and the
290:, and a
229:Westport
221:Blenheim
90:Auckland
81:region.
32:Location
1235: →
1223:←
1196:Oceania
1181:Brazil
1144:Midwest
1109:Greece
794:28 July
758:28 July
726:28 July
520:18 July
459:18 July
448:Newshub
426:18 July
394:18 July
288:Unimogs
236:Renwick
206:Effects
149:Renwick
106:Celsius
69:in the
1139:Hawaii
1097:Europe
1087:Turkey
1021:India
977:Africa
179:, the
165:cumecs
142:, and
129:Nelson
61:, the
1185:Bahia
1113:Evros
1062:Nepal
1015:Henan
1010:China
984:Niger
916:Stuff
848:Stuff
715:Stuff
541:Stuff
509:Stuff
383:Stuff
262:Stuff
219:near
993:Asia
929:2023
894:2023
861:2022
828:2022
796:2021
760:2021
728:2021
695:2021
663:2021
629:2021
593:2021
554:2021
522:2021
489:2023
461:2021
428:2021
396:2021
363:2023
306:$ NZ
49:The
24:Date
112:.
57:'s
1249::
1229:·
913:.
902:^
884:.
878:.
845:.
812:.
786:.
780:.
768:^
744:.
718:.
712:.
679:.
653:.
649:.
637:^
619:.
613:.
601:^
577:.
562:^
538:.
506:.
480:.
469:^
451:.
445:.
412:.
386:.
380:.
354:.
343:^
223:,
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365:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.