Helicopter footage taken by 1 NEWS reveals the widespread flooding affecting the Canterbury region over the last two days.
The images show flooded farmland near the Selwyn River.
At one point a car can be seen driving down a flooded road.
Tales of damage from farmers and business owners have been coming in to 1 NEWS all day, with one gutted Ashburton farmer saying over 20 years of work on his farm has "washed away overnight".
NIWA has released a graphic showing the huge amount of rainfall over Canterbury in the last two days.
"Lismore, near Ashburton, received 238 mm in the last 2.2 days, the same amount it had received in the previous 187 days," NIWA says.
While the worst of the weather has passed, danger still remains and rain continues to fall in parts of Canterbury.
The bridge is under threat as floodwaters continue to rise.
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