State of emergency in Southland
A state of emergency has been declared in Southland as extensive flooding causes significant problems across the region.
Southland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group chair Neville Cook declared the state of emergency for the region, including Gore, following yesterday’s declaration for Milford Sound, where 195 tourists remained trapped.
The Gore District Council was advising motorists not to travel unless it was absolutely necessary. Rivers were continuing to rise, many roads were closed and landslips were occurring throughout the region after torrential rain had battered down for three days.
State Highway 1 between Gore and Mataura had closed yesterday afternoon. There were no detours in place because local roads were also affected by flooding.
Flooding in the Gore district and in West Otago had forced 17 schools and two early childhood centres to close yesterday, the Ministry of Education said. The closures affected 1877 school students and 70 children in early learning.
Gore district mayor Tracy Hicks said he had seen the Mataura River, which flows through the Gore and Mataura townships, higher than it was flowing yesterday, but he had never seen so much floodwater lying around.
The floodwater had ‘‘really started to show its head yesterday’’ and the council and fire service had begun pumping water away to protect properties and buildings.
Precautionary measures were being taken to protect a hazardous substance being stored in a building in Mataura, which gives off ammonia gas if it gets wet.
About 10,000 tonnes of ouvea premix, a class six hazardous substance, was being stored in the former paper mill in the township, which is right next to the Mataura River.
Yesterday the Mataura River at Gore was flowing at 2.7m above normal. Lights were on at the mill and trucks were moving about.
Gore District Council chief executive Steve Parry said he had asked Inalco, the company that was moving the premix from the building, to take precautions to protect it, in case floodwaters continued to rise.
‘‘I’ve asked them to make sure it’s watertight’’.