The South’s wettest day: Christchurch braces for flooding overnight – صحيفة الصوت

• Over 70mm of rain fell in Christchurch on Tuesday, more than the monthly July average of 60mm.
• The heavy rain caused flooding in several areas in Christchurch, including by the Heathcote River and Oxford Tce
• There are multiple road closures in the central city, including parts of Fitzgerald Ave and Cambridge Tce
• Emergency services in the city are bracing for a long night of flood-related call-outs, with rain expected to continue falling into the night

Christchurch man Brett Evans and his two young children will be sleeping upstairs in their Shirley home on Tuesday night, unsure in what state downstairs will be when they wake up.

There are thousands of litres of water accumulated in a neighbouring property’s backyard, with a constant flow rushing through to Evans’ garage. Water has even started leaking into his and daughter Kenzie’s bedrooms.

Following the heavy rain and winds gusting up to 120kph that hit the North Island on Monday, the South Island suffered a soggy Tuesday, particularly in Christchurch and north of Dunedin.

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.

READ MORE:
* Metservice issues heavy rain warning for Nelson
* Weather live: Landslip warnings as heavy rain moves down NZ, snow expected in South Island
* Heavy rain watch for Marlborough on Monday night

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On Tuesday, over 70mm of rainfall fell in the Garden City within 24 hours (60mm is the July average) causing widespread surface flooding, with another 20mm to 35mm expected to fall by Wednesday morning.

By morning, flooding was visible by the Heathcote River and Oxford Tce. Some schools, including Christchurch Girls’ High, Hillmorton High, and St Thomas of Canterbury College, asked students to work from home as flooding made it difficult to access classrooms.

For Evans, Tuesday night would be a tense wait.

“I’d say it’s going to completely wreck the bedrooms, and there’s nothing I can do. As [Fire and Emergency] said, the river’s too high. We can’t pump the water anywhere because it’s just going to come back.”

Fire and Emergency senior Anzac station officer Shane O’Brien said the flooding on Evans’ Horseshoe Lake Rd home was caused by a combination of rain and blocked drains.

His crew started their shift at 6pm, but he was expecting a lot of similar call-outs on Tuesday night.

“People should take precautions, especially if they live by rivers. Move your valuables off the floors, and don’t enter any floodwaters… you can’t see what’s in it.”

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 evacuated residents from about 35 properties close to the Water of Leith on Tuesday evening.

A spokesperson said it was likely the stream would overtop later the evening affecting properties between Montgomery Ave and Leith St (central).

The University of Otago’s Campus Watch was earlier door-knocking affected homes to warn them to prepare to leave.

“We are advising the evacuated residents to stay with friends or family living in higher in areas if they can. Alternatively, anyone who needs accommodation, should go the evacuation centre which has opened at Dunedin North Intermediate, 34 North Rd,” the spokesperson said.

Several patients from the Otago Community Hospice have also been evacuated to Mercy Hospital as a precaution.

Sandbags are available at the Valley Project on North Rd, as well as at Victoria Rd car park beside the Dunedin Ice Stadium in South Dunedin, and in Mosgiel at the Memorial Park car park.

Flooding north of Dunedin, near Maheno is threatening to close SH1 where temporary speed restrictions are in place.

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

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said they were alerted to a landslide at a residential property at 2.26pm and a second at 4.45pm.

Fire and Emergency is now working closely with Civil Defence Emergency Management and Christchurch City Council geotechnical engineers, and has advised anyone concerned about the stability of their land to call 111 immediately.

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

Peter Timbs on Edgeware Rd was flooded for the third time in three weeks.

“Today is one of the worst. The water is flowing in. It’s up to about three centimetres,” co-owner David Timbs said.

The shop had flooded at least twice a year for the last 10 years, he said.

Timbs was “frustrated” at the city council for not having the drains fixed.

“It’s reasonably simple, we just want the drains fixed so we can trade,” he said.

He had been in the shop since 4.30am trying to save what he could.

The Christchurch City Council urged people to take care on local roads, several of which were closed due to heavy flooding.

In the Wigram area, streets bordered by Springs Rd, Corsair Dr, The Runway, and Awatea Rd were closed due to flooding at 1pm.

In the central city, Avonside Dr was closed from Woodham Rd to Retreat Rd, Oxford Tce was closed from Worcester to Gloucester St, Cambridge Tce from Cashel to Montreal St, and Edgeware Rd from Hills Rd to Geraldine St, as of 12pm.

A heavy rain warning was in place for Tasman and Motueka on Tuesday morning, while Canterbury, North Otago and Dunedin had a heavy rain warning in place until Wednesday morning.

A heavy rain warning was also issued for the western Bay of Plenty until 9am on Tuesday, and MetService had warned it could lead to flooding and slips in the area.

Snow earlier saw multiple road closures in alpine areas, but an NZTA spokesperson said Burkes and Lindis Passes – and the highway to Aoraki/Mt Cook – had all reopened around midday.

SH1 near Seddon in Marlborough reopened to single lane just after 3pm. Waka Kotahi journey manager Tresca Forrester said motorists should build in extra time if they are using SH1 until the floodwaters fully recede.

NZTA was still advising drivers to use caution across much of Canterbury and Otago’s state highway network due to slips, flooding, and damage from other recent rain dumps.

Graeme Hall, system manager for Waka Kotahi in Otago, said SH1 north of Maheno at Kakanui River and north of Hampden at Big Kuri Creek was likely to close as rain continued to fall. “There are no detours available, so drivers may need to postpone their journeys.”

In the North Island, Waka Kotahi has advised motorists of road closures due to slips in the Coromandel on SH25 between Coromandel and Te Rerenga, between Kuaotunu and Wharekaho, and between Waihi and Whiritoa.

For Auckland and Northland, heavy rain briefly cleared earlier in the day, but was expected to return with frequent showers by the afternoon, according to MetService. Strong northerlies also continued in the area throughout Tuesday.

On Monday, the top of the North Island was hit with winds up to 120kph, which caused speed limits on Auckland’s Harbour Bridge to be reduced and ferry services in the city to be cancelled.

Two schools and multiple roads in Northland and the Far North had to be closed due to the downpours, and thousands in the Far North were left without power due to the wild weather.