Flooding, evacuations as record levels of rain batter South Island – صحيفة الصوت

Evacuated residents in Dunedin are able to return home now as the city avoided any major flooding overnight, but authorities are continuing to monitor waterways and several roads are closed.

The storm had made its way south on Tuesday, bringing more than a month’s worth of rainfall to Christchurch in just 24 hours, causing havoc for emergency services as the deluge flooded houses and slips closed roads.

As records tumbled, schools were forced to close, residents in some parts of Banks Peninsula were cut off while others faced flood damaged homes and another costly clean-up.

Rain overnight on Monday pushed Christchurch Airport’s reading over 200 millimetres for the month – officially making July the city’s wettest month on record.

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On Tuesday, over 70mm of rain fell in the Garden City within 24 hours (60mm is the July average), causing widespread surface flooding.

While the rain had eased overnight Tuesday, several roads in Christchurch remained closed. Chisnallwood Intermediate said it was closed on Wednesday due to flooding.

On the main road to Okains Bay on Banks Peninsula, school bus driver Jason Crew was left with no other choice but to back the bus 5 kilometres up a steep and windy road after a slip made the road impassable on Tuesday.

After two days of steady rain that all but drowned the area, Crew and school pupils were confronted with an angry welch of mud blocking their path to the seaside village – and no cellphone coverage.

Crew reversed his bus almost to the top of the steep road before managing to turn the vehicle around.

As night fell on Tuesday, it was Otago’s turn to brace for the worst as water levels continued to rise.

Dunedin Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) evacuated residents from about 35 properties close to the Water of Leith on Tuesday evening. Several patients from the Otago Community Hospice were also evacuated to Mercy Hospital as a precaution.

On Wednesday, the council said the worst of the weather appeared to be over, with rain easing overnight and no major flooding.

Evacuated residents were able to return home, a city council spokesperson said. The evacuation centre at Dunedin North Intermediate had been used by only a few people and had now closed.

The Dunedin CDEM continued to keep an eye on local streams and rivers , including the Lindsay Creek and Water of Leith in North Dunedin, the spokesperson said.

“We are also keeping a close eye on the Waikouaiti and Taieri Rivers.”

Motorists were urged to take care as the heavy rain had created several hazards across the region.

State Highway 82 was closed on Wednesday from Waihao Downs to Waimate due to flooding, as was SH1 Waimate between Galletlys and Lower Hook roads, and SH63 Renwick between the SH6 and Anglesea St intersections.

Temporary speed restrictions were in place on several other southern highways due to flooding, including SH1 at Maheno and SH87 at Middlemarch and the Taieri River Bridge (Kokonga Bridge).

In Christchurch, many anxious homeowners watched and waited as water levels rose. This included Brett Evans and his two young children, who were forced to sleep upstairs in their Shirley home on Tuesday night, after thousands of litres of water made its way from a neighbouring property into Evans’ garage.

Earlier in the afternoon, two landslides were triggered in residential areas in Lyttelton.

The rain came less than a week after surprise flooding in Christchurch trapped people in their homes and waterlogged cars after rivers broke their banks.

Many roads around Christchurch were closed by midday Tuesday, including Avonside Drive and Oxford Tce.

Christchurch City Council head of three waters Helen Beaumont said the city’s stormwater network had held up well given the volume of rain for the month.

Hoon Hay resident Carolyn Baker’s backyard backs onto the Heathcote river and at one point on Tuesday morning was flooded to nearly knee height.

Her sleepout had been inundated with water, and water threatened to enter her garage.

Baker, who has lived on the street for 15 years, said it was the worst flooding she had seen since the quakes.

She hoped the city council would provide some sort of respite. “I’m not confident that’s going to happen, but we need it. There’s nothing we can do.”

Hoon Hay resident Brian Green​ has lived on Greenpark St for 55 years, and also said the only other time he had seen so much flooding on the street was immediately after the quakes.

Green said the Curletts Rd retention basin needed to be fixed, so water could drain from nearby streets.

Peter Timbs butcher on Edgeware Rd was flooded for the third time in three weeks on Tuesday morning. Co-owner David Timbs was “frustrated” at the council for not having the drains fixed.

Beaumont said flooding in the Edgeware Village area was caused by a combination of high water levels in the nearby St Albans Creek, and the comparatively low-lying area between Colombo and Sherborne streets, “which renders gravity drainage ineffective in a significant storm event”.

“The butcher shop is in an older commercial building, and the floor level is below that which would be recommended today.”

Council staff were looking at options to address the issue, Beaumont said.

Francis Ave resident Leo, who did not want his last name published, said he was surprised to see the water when he woke up on Tuesday, but it was not new for his street in the Flockton Basin area, which had significant recurring flooding after the quakes.

“This is probably the fifth or sixth time in the past year that this area has flooded, but this is the worst it has been,” he said.

Floodwater had flooded his garage and remained about shin-height throughout his backyard at 1pm.

Leo said the Christchurch City Council had been responsive. “As soon as we rang them, they sent someone out here within the hour,” he said.

While 14 of the South Island’s 19 skifields were closed due to the weather on Tuesday, Mt Dobson snow sports manager James Lazor said it was great to be getting new snow.

“Fortunately for us, it happened after the school holidays,” he said. “Going into the weekend, it will be absolutely stunning.”

Heavy rain this week had caused road closures, slips and general weather-related mayhem all across the country including in Northland, Auckland, Wellington and Marlborough.