Dunedin faces big cleanup after wild-weather drenching
Dunedin faces a major cleanup after heavy rain caused floods that forced the evacuation of residents, closed highways and cut power.
Emergency services faced more flooding overnight, with up to 100 millimetres of rain forecast. About 140mm fell over the city from midnight to about 8pm yesterday – more than twice the city’s June average.
Dunedin City Council activated its civil defence bunker, although no state of emergency had been declared last night.
‘‘Overnight [Wednesday] we may get another 80mm-100mm according to the forecasts, so we are about halfway in terms of the volume we have experienced over the city,’’ council civil defence manager Neil Brown said.
Rain Effects hydrologist Dave Stewart said the 12-hour rainfall of more than 90mm between 3am and 3pm made it about a one-in-50 year event. The rain was forecast to eventually ease this morning.
Surface flooding swamped streets and homes, most seriously in south Dunedin and parts of Mosgiel. Kaikorai Valley, Brighton, North East Valley and the Taieri Plains were also affected.
The northbound lanes State Highway 1 on Dunedin’s southern motorway were closed for several hours, reducing traffic to a crawl. The road was partially reopened last night.
State Highway through the main street of Mosgiel remained shut. Slips were reported along Otago Peninsula and Port Chalmers and the Port ChalmersDunedin road was closed to light vehicles last night. Police and the NZ Transport Agency urged people to stay off the roads.
Fire crews stemmed the rising tide of water as best they could but storm water systems became overwhelmed. Sewage overflow caused one south Dunedin street to close and prompted health warnings to stay out of flood water where possible.
Radius Fulton rest home, in the south Dunedin suburb of Caversham, was partially evacuated and several schools in the area closed early.
Heavy rain closed part of a Central Otago highway and several roads in the Clutha District.
Constable Lance Davies, of Roxburgh, said heavy rain had forced the closure of State Highway 8 between Ettrick and Roxburgh, following landslides that brought debris onto the road.
‘‘There are also boulders blocked under bridges that have caused water to come up over the road.’’
There was a detour in place along Teviot Rd (Roxburgh East Rd).
The New Zealand Transport Agency recommends chains on the Lindis Pass. Further south, a severe weather warning was in place for Clutha, where heavy rain had closed nine roads in the district.
The Clutha District Council said Lakeside Rd, Akatore Rd, the Papatowai Highway, Karoro Creek, Mt Wallace Rd, Back Rd, Springfield Rd, Allison Rd and Remote Rd were all affected.
The council advised motorists to drive with caution and to the conditions.
In Gore, a washed-out culvert forced the closure of Leithen Rd, near Waikaia, from the intersection with the Greenvale School Rd.
An Environment Southland spokesperson said flood warnings were in place for the Waikaia River at Waikaia, Mahers beach and Piano Flat.
MetService meteorologist Lisa Murray said rain would continue in Southland and Clutha over the next few days, but falls were not expected to be as significant.