The Southland Regional Council has activated flood warnings following heavy rain across the region on Tuesday night and throughout Wednesday.
The levels of most Southland rivers are above normal in the upper catchments, with the Oreti and Mataura rivers on the rise.
The council said the Orauea River and the Irthing Stream are also rising quickly.
It says while the worst of the rain is over, people should still be vigilant as floodwaters could take one to two days to move downriver.
