Christchurch's most flood-stricken streets has turned into "Lake Emmett" with residents saying it is the worst flooding they have seen in decades.
Emmett Street in Shirley is no stranger to flooding, with the entire street submerged after record rainfall earlier this week.
A band of rain falling between Monday night and Tuesday night plunged Canterbury into the wettest July on record, with a third of the annual rain falling in a month.
Resident Barney Gray has lived on Emmett Street for 24 years and said the flooding had only been as bad once before.
"Every time it floods on this street and I open my curtains and all I see is water. It's a houseboat to me," Gray told Ryan Bridge on AM.
She said the water at its peak was up to her hip and children on the street were trying to swim in it.
Gray said many residents have been forced to stay inside their homes until the water subsides.
"I like walking in the flood because I like the cold. But I feel sorry for other people because this water, when it gets so high, it goes inside their houses when you get further down Emmett Street."
But the flooding doesn't damper Gray's spirits.
"I've been here 24 years and it ain't gonna make me move. The earthquake didn't make me move. It's just water, handle it, let it go down and carry on with your life," she said.
"It's Lake Emmett."
Watch the full interview above.
