Nelson residents are pitching in - helping neighbours, digging mud and silt, and checking the land for instability.
The council has a huge job on its hands -- more than 400 homes have been evacuated -- and there are countless slips.
Throughout the Nelson-Tasman region - bridges are busted, paddocks are ponds, roads are ripped up.
And there's more heavy rain coming again this evening.
RNZ's reporter in Nelson Kirsty Frame spoke to Māni Dunlop.
