WEATHER LATEST:

• 411 homes in Nelson evacuated due to river flooding and landslides, with more slips being reported overnight
• MetService has issued a Red Warning for more heavy rain tonight, which is likely to cause significant flooding and slips.
• "A really tough night" for residents, says Nelson mayor Rachel Reese - it will "take years, not months" to recover
• Nelson locals asked to conserve water as much as possible from today.
• Severe weather in Taranaki region causes flooding, voluntary evacuations, road closures, sewerage overflows, downed trees, and landslips.
• Kaitaia still cut off this morning as floodwaters and slips keep the Far North town isolated from the rest of the country.
• Many areas completely cut off by closures to State Highways 1, 10 and 11, and local roads

More than 400 homes have had to be evacuated after two nights of wild weather in Nelson, and there's more on the way.

Communities near Nelson have been evacuated for a second night as the "devastating" wild weather continues to lash the top of the South Island, while parts of the Far North have been cut off by flooding and slips.

Civil Defence Controller Alec Louverdis said at an update this afternoon there have been 411 evacuations, including 113 because of landslides last night.

Ten homes are currently classed as "red" or "yellow".

He said yesterday's rain almost "close mimicked" the day before and heavy rainfall was expected from 5pm tonight to 10am tomorrow.

However, he acknowledged that over the last two days the weather had behaved as per the models.

There was a finite number of resources and some resources were being requested from outside the region.

Photo / George Heard

Nelson mayor Rachel Reese said this morning "it's been a really tough night" for people in the city and about 411 homes have now been evacuated in total.

About a quarter of those properties had to be evacuated due to the threat of slips and stability issues caused by the heavy rain in the region this week.

Reese is now calling on locals to conserve water as much as possible from today, as the city has lost its primary water supply pipeline and there are problems with the power supply to the water treatment plant.

She told TVNZ's Breakfast said power supply issues are causing some challenges for authorities working to get things fixed.

"Right now, I need Nelsonians to conserve water."