The Opihi River from the bridge on the Waitohi Pleasant Rd upstream from the area affected by a State of Emergency. Photo taken Thursday morning.
A state of emergency has been declared by the Timaru District Council after floodwaters threatened homes along the Opihi River near Pleasant Point.
A council spokesperson said police had assisted in evacuated residents in the area overnight.
Senior sergeant Dylan Murray of Timaru police said there was a voluntary evacuation of homes in the affected area at 5pm on Wednesday.
Police returned to the area at around 11pm after the State of Emergency was declared to evacuate the remaining two people in the affected area.
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“We made sure everyone got out safely.”
Murray was unsure how many people were evacuated at 5pm.
The state of emergency covers the council’s Pleasant Point and Temuka Ward area.
“This is due to a risk of flooding in a specific section of the ward following damage to a stop bank along the south side of the Opihi River between Butlers Road and Kerrytown Road.
“Extensive scouring of the stop bank poses a flooding risk with potential to be a threat to life and property.”
YASHAS SRINIVASA/Stuff
A closed road leading towards the Opihi River in the Pleasant Point area where a State of Emergency is in place over concerns about the soundness of a stopbank.
Council said its Emergency Operations Centre would continue to monitor the situation in liaison with Environment Canterbury and partner agencies.
Residents not contacted directly at home by police or Civil Defence representatives, are advised they are not in the area at risk.
Council reaffirmed on its website that the “only issue is the stop bank… there is no issue with the Opuha dam” which discharges into the Opuha River which flows into the Opihi River.
“The dam is operating normally at present with no excess spill. The issue remains a weakened stop bank section.”
A further update is expected on Thursday morning.
Persistent rain over the past few days has seen the river flow in the Opihi peak on Tuesday at 748 cumecs (saleyards), 561 cumecs (SH1), 249 cumecs (Rockwood) and 51 cumecs (Cloudy Peaks) and was running at 182, 206, 23 and 12 respectively on Thursday morning.
According to the Environment Canterbury website, mean annual flood levels for those recording sites are 416 cumecs (saleyards), 426 cumecs (SH1), 150 cumecs (Rockwood) a level not available for Cloudy Peaks.
All State Highways in the region are now open with caution urged. The last to reopen on Thursday was State Highway80 (Mt Cook Rd) which had been closed Wednesday night after being reopened for several hours earlier.
The access road to Lake Ōhau Village remains closed after an approach was washed out on Tuesday. The Waitaki District Council began repair attempts on Wednesday, dumping 300 tonnes of rock into the river and further works will continue as soon as possible.
The only other highways still closed in the South Island are the Lewis Pass (SH7) from Hanmer Turnoff to Springs Junction due to snow and a section of SH6 from Murchison to the intersection with SH65 because of a rockfall.
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