Residents sick of being hemmed in by flooding after weekend rain pummels Canterbury
By reporters Cate Broughton and Amber Allott:
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Residents of an east Christchurch street are sick of getting hemmed in by floodwater every time it rains, after the latest deluge left small car owners stranded once again.
Canterbury was battered with heavy rain on Saturday and early Sunday, causing surface flooding and road closures, part of a weather system driven by the remnants of ex-cyclone Dovi.
Sam McDonnell, who lives on Newport St in Christchurch's Avondale, woke up on Sunday to a road that had disappeared under floodwaters.
At 7am, the water was about 40 centimetres deep at the end of his driveway, McDonnell said.
He had owned his property since November and the street had flooded six times since then, but other residents said it had been a problem since the Canterbury earthquakes more than a decade ago, he said.
Rubberneckers often drove through the flooding, which pushed water onto properties, he said.
Locals wanted the council to look at storm water infrastructure for the area, to find a permanent solution, McDonnell said.
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DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
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Poll: Canterbury is thriving on paper... but are you seeing evidence of Canterbury's improving economy?
As reported in the Press, Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman recently gave a shout-out to our region, calling Canterbury a "stand-out" for how we recover from tough times. With tech firms growing and exporters investing, the business side of things is looking bright!
👉 But we know that "business growth" doesn't always mean the weekly shop gets any cheaper. While the city expands, many families feel like they’re just trying to keep their heads above water.
We want to know: With the business buzz of 2026, do you feel like things are finally looking up for your household, or does it still feel like a climb?
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18.2% Yes
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56.8% No
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25% In some areas ...
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