ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION).
STORY: The streets of Christchurch were flooded on Wednesday (March 05) after one of the worst storms since 1975 hit New Zealand's second biggest city overnight and in the early hours of the morning, local media said.
Power was cut to hundreds of homes as emergency services were called in to rescue stranded motorists and sandbag businesses.
One council worker, Sean Ryan-Harris described the scene.
"We've seen a couple of cars, the waves themselves are actually going above their bonnets. It's completely flooded them out, complete chaos, it's shattered. All the sewers are spewing out, it's just not good news, eh," he said.
Some schools are to remain closed until flood waters recede, New Zealand media reported.
