Ōpihi River stopbank holding but threat remains, and more bad weather expected – صحيفة الصوت

A severely damaged flood protection stop bank on the Ōpihi River, near Pleasant Point, is still holding on Friday morning, but there is no estimated time on when evacuated residents may return, with more rain expected next week.

The Timaru District Council declared a State of Emergency at 10.20pm on Wednesday after two of 10 people from the Mill Rd Huts area, who had voluntarily evacuated several hours earlier, went back to a property.

On Thursday, the council said a small section of the stopbank was at risk of failing following flood flows from recent heavy rain and issued a map showing the huts area would be in the river’s path if it broke through.

On Friday, the council’s director user experience and community engagement Beth Stewart-Wright said while the stopbank is still holding the threat remains.

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“Nothing has changed, but the river levels have dropped this morning, and we will be monitoring and assessing the situation all day,” Stewart-Wright said.

“Fulton Hogan are reinforcing the stopbank with rocks but the threat still remains. We are in touch with the local residents, and we are working with them.”

MetService meteorologist Karl Loots said the weekend’s weather is looking good for South Canterbury.

However, from Monday afternoon through to Wednesday, Loots said persistent rain is expected due to a front associated with a low pressure system from the North Tasman Sea driving into the South Canterbury region.

“It is quite far out as of now but as we get close to next week there will likely be a severe weather warning,” he said.

Stewart-Wright said the council had a few days where it will be “going hard” trying to repair before weather deteriorates.

“We are working with ECAN [Environment Canterbury] and the MetService in anticipation of any increase in water flows, and we are currently in the process of determining what steps we’ll be taking in that case,” she said.

Group controller of the Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management, Sean Poff, had earlier said a State of Emergency was declared by the council “in order to ensure that safety of those likely to be affected by this localised threat of flooding’’.

“It’s unfortunate that the behaviour of a very small number of people forced the action that was necessary to keep them, and the community, and the emergency services’ personnel, safe,” Poff said.

“It is important to note, however, that it is very much a localised situation specific to the Mill Rd location, and a handful of properties, and is not deemed a deteriorating situation.”

Police Sergeant Malcolm Lindsay, of Temuka, said the resident and their friend left the area by their own accord when the emergency was declared and police went back to the huts to notify them.

Timaru District deputy mayor Steve Wills said the main concerns throughout is the safety and wellbeing of the residents due to the scouring of the stop bank upstream of the Mill Rd Hut Settlement.

Wills said all affected residents have been contacted and supported to evacuate and are staying with family and friends in the area.

The decision to call the emergency emerged with a “very small number of people” not evacuating on the early advice of Civil Defence and NZ Police which posed an increased threat to life.

Wills said a meeting attended by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Canterbury Group Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM), Environment Canterbury (ECan), Timaru District Council, NZ Police agreed that a declaration was a reasonable and necessary step to protect the safety and wellbeing of the community.