Roads still closed after heavy rain
Several roads remain closed across Southland and Clutha yesterday following heavy rain in the south on Wednesday.
Surface flooding in the the Gore district forced the closure of some stretches of Woolwich St, River Rd, River Tce, Maitland St, PyramidWaiparu Rd, Otama Rd, McGregor Rd and MacGibbon Rd.
Leithen Rd has reopened after being washed out by a flooded culvert on Wednesday afternoon, but the Gore District Council is urging motorists to drive carefully and check road conditions before travelling.
Detours are in place on State Highway 90, which is affected between Raes Junction and Gore, and on State Highway 8 in Central Otago at Black Jacks Creek.
Flood warnings remain in place for the Mataura, Waikaia and Oreti Rivers.
The Mataura River had reached as high as 3.02 metres above normal as of 7.30pm, while the Waikaia River had peaked at 1.46m above normal.
As of 4.40pm, the Clutha District Council said all roads near the Pomahaka River were closed, along with Karoro Creek Rd.
The Papatowai highway and roads in the Glenledia area had reopened.
Small vehicles were being let through on State Highway 1 from Milton to Balclutha yesterday morning, after it was previously closed.
There were 23 roads closed by flooding in Clutha on Wednesday night.
MetService meteorologist Lisa Murray said up to 80mm of rain had fallen in Clutha in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday, but the heaviest falls had come in Dunedin.
‘‘The biggest thing that caused problems (on Wednesday) was the big low out to the east moving in an easterly direction. That's quite uncommon for New Zealand and the winds tend to be more westerly, which is what we'll start seeing again in the next few days.’’
Federated Farmers Southland president Allan Baird said he was not aware of any farmers being significantly hit by floodwaters.
The rain had hit much harder in Otago and farmers whose properties were alongside rivers were generally well prepared for rising waters, he said.
‘‘MetService and Environment Southland have been very good with issuing warnings, so farmers in those areas near rivers can prepare before heavy rainfall. It can be a problem if the river comes up during the night, but in this case I'm not aware of any farmers with major flooding issues in Southland.’’