Wellington, Sep 22 : New Zealand's Queenstown on Friday declared a state of emergency for an initial period of seven days, as part of the response to the current heavy rain and risks of slips and flooding.

Queenstown Mayor Glyn Lewers said the declaration was necessary given the considerable rainfall experienced by Queenstown, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The current weather event is an active and evolving situation," Lewers said, adding that the district council has been working with emergency management throughout the night to assess the full extent of the situation in the current conditions.