New Zealand South Island cities Christchurch and Dunedin have been hit by heavy rain and flooding as this year’s wet weather pattern continues.

States of emergency were declared for a number of towns and cities as rivers broke their banks and residents in some areas were forced to leave their homes.

The Insurance Council of New Zealand advised people who had uninhabitable homes due to flood damage to contact their insurer directly for help with temporary accommodation.

“Reports in today suggest that some people may be displaced from their homes for quite some time and in some areas of the South Island it may take two to three weeks for the water to recede,” ICNZ CEO Tim Grafton said.

Some areas of the region received more than 200 millimetres of rain in 24 hours, according to news reports.

“Over the last few days, a slow moving rain band brought some very large rainfall accumulations to places in the east of the South Island that typically don’t see a large amount of rain at this time of year,” New Zealand’s MetService said.

Most places from Christchurch to Dunedin recorded more than the long-term average July rainfall in 24-48 hours.

New Zealand has already experienced a number of severe weather events this year, with the North Island affected by the remains of Cyclone Debbie and a storm dubbed the “Tasman Tempest” also causing damage.