Hundreds Evacuated in New Zealand as Canterbury Region Floods

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - Hundreds of people were evacuated overnight and many more face the risk of abandoning their homes in New Zealand's Canterbury region as heavy rains raised water levels and caused widespread flooding.

At least 300 homes in Canterbury were evacuated overnight as water levels rose in rivers across the region in a "one-in-100-year deluge," local media reports said Monday. Several highways, schools and offices were closed, and New Zealand's Defense Forces deployed helicopters to rescue some people stranded in floods in the Ashburton area. Ashburton's Mayor Neil Brown said "half of Ashburton" would need to be evacuated if the river's levees broke but there was "still quite a bit of capacity" in the river.