Big cleanup effort begins as rain eases
Residents in flood-stricken parts of the South Island had a chance to take stock yesterday morning as the rain eased, leaving slips, road closures, sewerage leaks and damaged properties in its wake.
While the outlook for hard-hit Christchurch, Dunedin and Timaru has eased, with fine periods and showers expected over the next three days, MetService issued a severe weather outlook for western parts of the South Island on Saturday afternoon.
A front is expected to move up the South Island today, bringing heavy downpours to Fiordland and Westland.
Christchurch had some respite from the wild weather as rain stopped overnight on Saturday, while an early-morning high tide peaked at a lower level than the previous three high tides.
Evacuated residents had been urged to stay away from their homes amid fears of further flooding and likely contamination ahead of the high tide, at 3.42am.
On Saturday night, wastewater overflowed onto the streets in Christchurch as several pump stations flooded. Christchurch had two months’ worth of rain in two days.
The Heathcote River is still significantly flooded, and the Christchurch District Council yesterday morning said significant rainfall in the hill catchments above the river had led to several basins filling up. Those storage areas would take several days to drain through the Heathcote River, the council said.
Community and Public Health has advised that flooded houses would likely be contaminated and urged people coming into contact with floodwaters to wash their hands thoroughly.
Rainfall has eased in Otago, but the region is not out of the woods yet, with flooding still widespread and roads affected.
Dunedin remains under a state of emergency, but the focus is now on recovery following significant damage in parts of the wider city caused by heavy rain and flooding, the Dunedin City Council said.
Roads were icy yesterday after low temperatures overnight.
Dozens of residents who were evacuated from areas such as the Henley township, the lower part of Outram and other parts of the Taieri Plain and Mosgiel spent a second night away from their homes on Saturday, but the situation was due to be reassessed yesterday morning.
More than 25 slips had affected roads around the wider city, many of them on the Otago Peninsula. Some areas were effectively cut off, such as the peninsula north of Harwood, where no alternative access route was available. The DCC said it would take months to clear all the slips.
In Waitaki, widespread flooding had closed roads and damaged some properties, and sewerage was leaking in Oamaru.