English: On May 20 1988 the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand was hit by flooding. The town of Greymouth was worst affected. The Grey and Inangahua rivers had record levels and there was significant damage in the Grey Valley. Over 1,800 sheep, 163 cattle and 35 pigs were lost and 400 people were evacuated from their homes. The insurance pay-out for the disaster was estimated over $3.2 million. On May 20 Civil Defence declared a state of emergency which lasted 3 days. Throughout the event 102 homes were evacuated with 2 ending up being condemned. Asphalt was ripped from the streets and railway lines along Mawhera Quay were destroyed.

The image shown here was transferred to Archives New Zealand by the Ministry of Civil Defence. The Ministry took many pictures of the damage caused by the event. The album can be consulted in its entirety in the Archives New Zealand Wellington Reading Room.

Archives New Zealand Reference: ABUG 7881 W5083 11