State highway one north of Kaikoura has reopened this afternoon but south of the township, the road remains closed due to flooding.

Over 400mm of rain has fallen in some parts of the region over the last few days, making the navigating of many local roads difficult.

SH 7A, near the Hanmer turnoff, was also closed last night and although it has been open off and on throughout the day, it will close again from six o’clock this evening.

Skies are clearing and it is now into a full clean-up mode for many residents too.

Twice this winter, very high rainfall totals have soaked the North Canterbury, Kaikoura and Marlborough regions but with a drier spell forecast over the next few days, it will be an opportunity for river levels to recede and for the saturated grounds to slowly soak in a lot of moisture.

Weather analyst Richard Green