The largest city in New Zealand, Christchurch declared Saturday a state of emergency due to severe storms, which forced the evacuation of hundreds from their homes and blocked several main roads.
The army has been called in to aide the emergency services in dealing with the storms, Sky News reported.
New Zealand Defense Forces had called in additional troops and dozens of trucks, accumulating to 134 personnel to aide emergency services and help rescue people trapped by flood waters.
Local media reports said about 1,500 people in villages in north of the country had been asked to leave their homes after the water level rose overnight, while more than 100 homes were evacuated outside the city of Dunedin, which is considered the second largest city in south of the country.

Source: Mena