Less than 24 hours after parched West Coast grounds reached drought level, a dozen people were evacuated from their homes as heavy downpours lashed the region.

The deluge may have not broken the official drought declaration, which will remain in place for six months, but rivers and creeks around Greymouth reached brimming point with more rain to come. Heavy rain warnings would remain in place for Buller and Westland until 6am on Friday.

Outbreaks of heavy rain and localised downpours of up to 40 millimetres per hour were expected to batter the region, and residents could expect drizzly showers for at least the next 10 days.

DAN MCKINLEY A swollen river causes flooding on Main South Rd Paroa, Greymouth.

Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn said some residents were evacuated from their flooded Greymouth homes from 10am on Thursday, with Civil Defence meetings held in the early afternoon. Several roads were badly affected by surface flooding, making much of the town centre inaccessible for a short time.

Water had mostly drained from inside the flooded properties as the rain subsided about midday on Thursday, but there were concerns heavy rain forecast would "exacerbate the problems", Kokshoorn said.

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"The rivers and creeks are extremely high and any more could tip them over."

An emergency centre was set up at the Westland Recreation Centre on Greymouth's High St, but most people stayed with friends and family, Kokshoorn said.

LaceyTV Update from Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn on flooding on the West Coast

For the second year in a row, the Kumara Racing Club abandoned its Saturday meeting due to the poor ground conditions.

'FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER'

MetService forecaster Cameron Coutts said 40mm of rain drenched Hokitika in the hour between 1pm and 2pm, and 92.4mm fell within six hours.

More than 60mm pounded Greymouth between 9am and 11am, adding to the 148mm that fell in the 24 hours to 12pm on Thursday. The Grey River had reached 3.5 metres at Dobson, the first level alarm.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Despite the wet weather, the drought status would remain over the Grey District until next July.

"We've gone from one extreme to another in 24 hours."

The downpours come one day after drought was officially declared in the Buller and Grey districts because of an unusually dry summer so far.

A Ministry for Primary Industries spokeswoman said while the rain was "welcome", droughts were "slow to build and slow to recover from".

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Warren Smith and his son Morgan are over the moon with the recent rain.

"The recent rainfall is excellent news. The rain that has fallen will support pasture growth, and will take two to three weeks before this translates into feed for animals."

A statement from the Grey District Council said a water leak affected properties in the Karoro, South Beach and Paroa areas.

"We're having trouble locating the leak due to the other water around but are aware of the issue and doing what we can to fix it."

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Emergency services responded to flooded Greymouth homes as more than 40mm of rain hit Hokitika in 1 hour on Thursday.

GRANDFATHER EVACUATED

Greymouth resident Joel Billett had to evacuate his grandfather from his Marsden Rd property after knee-deep water surrounded his property.

A council-owned creek flowed through the back of the property and often became swollen from heavy rain, flooding the property at least once a year.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF The main street in Greymouth was closed at 11:30am for the fire service to pump water out of properties.

Billett said the council told him about a year ago that it would install some sort of protection to contain the creek following serious flooding and landslips.

Nothing was done though and Billett now feared for his grandfather's safety.

"I'm just concerned about it . . . my grandfather is old and he thinks he can do a lot and he'll go out there to try and fix something and fall in."

JOEL BILLETT Steve Billett's family evacuated him from his property in Marsden Rd, Greymouth, due to flooding.

Styliz Hair Salon hairdresser Christie Pascoe said ankle-deep water lapped at the entrance to the Nelson St salon, but subsided when the rain eased before causing any major damage inside. The street was drenched in at least 10 cm of water and covered in debris floating out of neighbouring properties, she said.

The toilet area out the back of the salon partially flooded and they tried to clean up by bucketing water out, she said.

CATHEDRAL JUNCTION ROOF LEAKS

COLLEEN EASON Flooding in Greymouth town centre.

A significant amount of rain had also fallen across Canterbury on Thursday, providing relief to farmers battling dry land, but causing headaches for some.

Surface flooding affected streets in Christchurch and the roof of a popular central-city establishment was leaking extensively.

Cathedral Junction has long had issues with a leaky roof, with buckets often seen dotted around the arcade. On Thursday morning, more than 20 buckets were placed under drips.

COLLEEN EASON Rain is a relief for farmers battling drought on the West Coast, but has caused problems for motorists in Greymouth.

Christchurch Transport Operations Centre spokeswoman Janine Porter said motorists needed to take extra care driving in flooded areas.

The left turn bay and left straight lane on Pages Rd and Dyers Rd heading eastbound had been hit with surface flooding, as was Hornby's Shands Rd heading southbound towards Amyes Rd.

JACK FLETCHER/STUFF Rain is causing headaches at Christchurch's Cathedral Junction, with more than 20 buckets deployed to catch leaks on Thursday morning.