Kaikōura flood recovery updates

The July 2026 Kaikōura flood was a significant event. Early analysis indicates rainfall was 25–50% greater than during the 1993 flood and may have exceeded what is typically considered a 1-in-100-year rainfall event in some locations.

The flood caused significant erosion, transported large volumes of gravel and sediment through river systems, and damaged flood protection assets across the district.

While there was damage and disruption, early observations indicate that decades of investment in flood protection, river management and monitoring systems helped reduce impacts to the community. Detailed assessments are continuing as recovery work gets underway.

We work with communities to manage flood and erosion risks.

We manage 59 river and drainage schemes across Waitaha Canterbury. These schemes include stopbanks, drains, erosion protection works and other infrastructure designed to reduce flood and erosion risk.

Most of our flood protection work happens when the weather is calm. We spend the year maintaining flood protection infrastructure on the schemes we manage, monitoring river systems and planning improvements to help reduce flood risk and build resilience.

We also monitor river flow and rainfall conditions.

After an event like this, we assess damage, prioritise repairs, support recovery planning and funding discussions, repair flood protection assets and undertake river management activities, including enabling gravel extraction where appropriate.

Find out more about Flood protection and community resilience.

Gravel extraction is a key part of the recovery effort. We've put in place a streamlined process to enable gravel extraction for eligible flood recovery works, helping communities, the local council, landowners and contractors respond quickly where gravel is needed for repairs.

Request flood recovery gravel authorisation

Information about the flood recovery gravel authorisation is available, and our staff are working directly with people who need support to access it.

Find out how to apply

The recent flood moved huge amounts of gravel and sediment through Kaikōura's rivers. In some places, river channels changed and gravel built up in new locations.

In the wake of the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, hundreds of landslide dams came down across the region. These landslides are located high in the headwater gorges of the rivers and are virtually inaccessible for direct gravel extraction.

Many of these landslides have cleared or reduced over time but in this latest event, the remaining landslide debris in these valleys was washed into the riverbed and moved downstream in huge volumes which contributed to the impact of the flooding.

Some of these landslides remain, and we know the lower parts of these catchments will receive massive amounts of gravel in the future. We are carrying out detailed surveys, including LiDAR flights, to understand where gravel has accumulated and how river channels have changed. Information gathered through surveys and assessments will help identify where gravel management may be needed to support recovery, restore river capacity, and reduce future flood risk.

Gravel extraction will play an important role in recovery. Extraction is demand driven, commercial operators remove it from the river and transport it to places it can be used for roads and other infrastructure. Under a usual model, the amount of gravel taken in any one year depends on how much is needed by the building sector.  

We've put in place a streamlined process for eligible flood recovery works to help communities, councils, landowners and contractors access gravel more quickly for repairs.

Recovery from a flood of this scale will take time. Some urgent repairs can be completed quickly, while larger projects may take several years to plan, fund and deliver. 

Our immediate focus is assessing damage, prioritising the highest-risk sites and identifying the work needed to restore and strengthen flood protection assets. Recovery work will be staged and some activities can only be completed during suitable seasonal conditions. 

We will continue to provide updates as assessments are completed and work programmes are confirmed.

We are very mindful of the pressure some in our community are under, and we are keeping in close contact with all agencies involved in the recovery to best support everyone in our communities.

The Rural Support Trust is the lead agency supporting households under pressure, and we will continue to work closely with them throughout the recovery.
When we are aware that a household is affected by pressures such as flooding, health or mental wellbeing, we have a range of options to alter our regulatory approach.

Find out more about what support is available for farmers to help respond to the region's flood

Assessments are ongoing, but current estimates put damage to Kaikōura's flood protection assets at around $20 million. We expect this figure to increase significantly as we continue to understand the full extent of the damage.

Detailed surveys, including LiDAR flights, are underway to assess how river channels have changed, where gravel and sediment have accumulated, and what recovery work is required.

We will be engaging with NEMA regarding potential recovery funding. We'll also work through the normal funding processes as we develop a longer-term recovery programme. At this stage, it is too early to confirm how costs will ultimately be shared or funded.