Edgy wait for residents
Residents evacuated for the third time in less than a week have had a nervous wait overnight as rain continues to fall and the Ō pihi River again threatens to flood their riverside properties near Pleasant Point.
Civil Defence evacuated residents from the Mill Rd Huts area yesterday afternoon as the MetService announced July as the wettest in Timaru since records began in 1956.
MetService meteorologist John Law said 46 millimetres of rain had fallen in Timaru in the 24 hours to 5pm, and 160.4mm so far in July.
The previous record was set in 1963 when Timaru got 157.4mm of rain. In comparison, the long term average rainfall for the month of July for Timaru is 37.5mm.
Law said rain was expected to continue this morning but ease off this afternoon.
It was the third evacuation in less than a week for the residents of the Mill Rd Huts after severe damage to the flood protection stopbank on the river last Wednesday meant the declaration of a state of emergency after two of 10 people from the area, who had voluntarily evacuated several hours earlier, went back to a property.
Timaru District Civil Defence controller Jayson Ellis said residents of the settlement had been asked to evacuate by 5pm yesterday ‘‘due to concerns about the integrity of the stopbank upstream from the community overnight’’.
The Ō pihi River was flowing at 286.45 cumecs at State Highway 1, at 5pm, which is near the hut settlement.
Last Wednesday night, when the council evacuated the settlement, the river flow at the same location was 170.72 cumecs.
‘‘Water on the roads can be deeper than it looks and may be hiding debris and washouts,’’ Ellis said.
‘‘We advise people to drive with extreme caution, avoid driving through flooded roads and if you can put off your trip it would be safer to do so.’’
Environment Canterbury deputy chair, and Kerrytown farmer, Peter Scott, said his farm near the damaged stopbank was safe – so far on Tuesday afternoon.
‘‘Hopefully it just remains surface flooding,’’ Scott said.
The evacuation came on a wild weather day for South Canterbury with some council roads across the region closed, and flood warnings issued.
School buses have also been cancelled for today, and because of this Pleasant Point Primary School and St Joseph’s Pleasant Point schools are also closed.
Snow in the Mackenzie
MetService meteorologist Karl Loots said the snow level was at 400 metres yesterday morning in the Canterbury High Country and was expected to gradually lift to about 900m in the evening.
Roads
Caution was being urged on roads around the region, including State Highway 8 Ō mā rama to Twizel, which was closed to towing vehicles and SH82 Ō mā rama to Otematata which was also closed to towing vehicles.
Road closures were in place in the Timaru District on Burnham Rd ford, Chalmers Rd ford, Vance Rd ford, Taylor Rd ford, Seaward Rd ford, Palmer Rd ford, Casey Rd ford, Pareora Ford Rd ford, Brockley Rd ford, George Ward Rd ford, Pudjeck Rd ford, Basset Rd, Kellands Hill Rd, Washdyke Flat Rd, Bath Rd, Station Rd and Langridge Rd.
On Monday, ECan issued flood warnings for rivers in South Canterbury including the Orari, Ō pihi, Waitaki and Ahuriri rivers.
In the Canterbury part of the Waitaki District, precipitation would fall as snow in the upper catchments of larger rivers such as the Ahuriri, it said.
‘‘Expect rain into some catchments affected by recent flooding including (but not limited to) Omarama Stream and Otematata River.
‘‘Saturation of these catchments will potentially result in rapid increases in flows Tuesday morning and high flows into Wednesday.
‘‘The lower Waitaki River flows may increase due to inflows from tributaries below the Waitaki Dam but spill flows from the dam itself are not anticipated. All landowners impacted by recent flooding need to monitor their own situation and take action as needed,’’ ECan said.
In the Mackenzie District, precipitation is expected to fall as snow in the upper catchments of the larger rivers in this district.
Haldon Rd, Mackenzie Pass Rd, Haka Pass Rd and Braemar Rd in the Mackenzie District will be closed until cleared.
For the Waimate District, the lower Waitaki River flows may increase due to inflows from tributaries below the Waitaki Dam but spill flows from the dam itself are not anticipated.
‘‘Foothills rivers and smaller coastal catchments throughout the district are expected to rise later Tuesday and into Wednesday. In larger rivers such as the Hakataramea, the precipitation will fall as snow in the upper part of the catchment,’’ ECan said.
The Waimate District Council says fords in the district are closed and motorists are being asked to drive to the conditions.
Due to significant rain, the Hakataramea Pass was temporarily closed to all traffic until further notice.
School buses
Students at Craighead Diocesan School said in a social media post yesterday afternoon that the Levels Valley, Rosewill, Kerrytown, Plantorama, Upper Waitoho and Opihi/Taiko secondary school bus routes will not run today.
‘‘In addition, students that use the Maungati bus will need to meet at the corner of Limestone Rd and Pareora Gorge Rd as we won’t be able to go down Limestone Rd because of flooding,’’ the post says.
‘‘Also, students on Craigmore Valley Rd need to come out to Pareora Gorge Rd to meet the bus.’’
Water supplies
The water supply for the HookWaituna rural water scheme, Waikakahi rural water scheme, Cannington-Motukaika rural water scheme and Waihaorunga rural water scheme has been shut down temporarily because of the deterioration of water quality at the source.