New Zealand Army staff have been put on standby in Dunedin due to heavy rain forecast for the city until tomorrow.
Dunedin and North Otago residents are being urged to watch for rapidly rising streams and rivers, surface flooding and slips after MetService issued a heavy rain warning for those areas today and tomorrow.
In addition to the 20 to 30mm of rain which had already accumulated, Dunedin could expect a further 60 to 90mm until 11am on Wednesday, with peak rates of 10 to 15mm per hour, a MetService spokesman said.
North Otago would also experience periods of heavy rain. In addition to the 30 to 40mm which has already fallen, a further 60 to 90mm was forecast until 8am tomorrow, at peak rates of 10 to 15mm per hour.
Heavy rain was also forecast for Clutha until 1pm tomorrow.
MetService said a front was forecast to move slowly southwards over northern and central New Zealand today, bringing a broad band of rain with some heavy falls, and easterly to northeasterly gales.
An associated low to the west of the upper North Island would also move slowly southwards, then weaken and cross the South Island tomorrow.
Steady rain is falling in Dunedin and there was surface flooding on Portobello Rd this morning.
The Dunedin City Council and Waitaki District Council have activated their Emergency Response Centres in response to the downpour, emergency management Otago group manager Matt Alley said.
"We continue to monitor the rainfall across the region and watch for any impacts that this may have. The ground is really saturated following the last few weeks of wet weather and we may see slips, surface flooding by the end of the day."
A New Zealand Defence Force spokesman said the New Zealand Army had a liaison officer and a team of 25 reserve personnel from the 2nd/4th Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment on standby to assist if required, he said.
No significant flooding but sandbags available
The Dunedin City Council said early this afternoon there were no reports of significant flooding and it did not anticipate major problems.
"However, with another 60 to 90mm of rain expected to fall by 11am tomorrow, it’s important we have plans in place."
Some roads including Surrey St between Hillside Rd and Ruskin Tce in the city and rural fords are closed. Motorists should drive to the conditions and check www.dunedin.govt.nz/road-conditions for the latest closures.
At this stage sandbags were not needed, but as a precautionary measure some would be available from 1.30pm today from:
• South Dunedin – Victoria Road car park beside the Dunedin Ice Stadium
• Mosgiel – Memorial Park car park beside the stadium/Mosgiel Memorial Gymnasium
If people are unable to collect sandbags, for example they are elderly or have a disability, call 03 477 4000 and the DCC would try to arrange delivery.
A DCC spokesman said staff and contractors were actively preparing ahead of the forecasted heavy rain for the area.
"The ground is already very wet following recent rain. Further significant rain could cause flooding and slips and make driving difficult."
Staff and contractors began checking stormwater and wastewater systems yesterday and road maintenance contractors had been sweeping gutters around the city and doing additional checks of mud tanks in low-lying and high-risk areas, he said.
"We are also asking any residents who notice a blocked mud tank near their home to clear debris on to the footpath, where it will be picked up by contractors when the weather clears.
"We will continue to closely monitor the situation and contractors will be on call to respond to issues as and when they arise."
Further information would be made available via the DCC website, DCC social media and media channels as required.
Contractors were on site over the weekend and managed to remove a substantial amount of rock from the cliff, but an even larger amount still needs to be removed.
"As more heavy rain is forecast, the road must remain closed to ensure public safety.
"A detour remains in place via Doon St."
Alpine roads reopen
Snow has affected South Island alpine passes and Waka Kotahi/ NZ Transport Agency advised travellers in the South Island to check their route before they set off today.
Some inland passes from South Canterbury into Otago were closed due to heavy snow from this morning, but reopened about midday.
They were: Burkes Pass (State Highway 8 - Fairlie to Twizel), the Lindis Pass (SH 8 Omarama to Tarras) where up to 10cm of snow was expected and SH 80 Aoraki/Mt Cook to Ben Ohau (intersection with SH 8).
It is possible that highways may be closed due to flooding as the day progresses, Waka Kotahi's Journey Manager Tresca Forrester said.
“Please slow down and drive to the conditions if there is surface flooding to avoid making waves. People should expect roads that are open to be slower than usual with damage from last week’s storm creating some slower patches in many places across our network.”
SH 8 Twizel to Omarama, and SH 83 Omarama to Pukeuri are also closed to towing vehicles, but open with extreme caution for other vehicles.
Meanwhile, snow to 300 metres in the Mackenzie Basin is forecast.
The Crown Range, linking Queenstown and Wanaka, is open but between 10cm to 15cm of snow was forecast to accumulate above 800 metres with lesser amounts lower down to 300 metres until 3pm today.
Chains must be used between Eastburn Gates and Chainbay 1, a spokesman for the Queenstown Lakes District Council said this morning.
More flooding for Canterbury
Weather warnings are in place also for an already sodden Canterbury, with more flooding expected.
The Avon and Heathcote rivers have breached their banks this morning after torrential rain overnight.
Heavy rain is forecast for Canterbury south of the Rakaia River. In addition to the 40 to 55 mm of rain which has already fallen, expect a further 80 to 100mm until 4am tomorrow.
Heavy rain is also expected to continue falling in the region north of the river until midnight tonight, however this was expected to ease during the afternoon and evening.
Flights cancelled
Two flights into Dunedin last night, from Christchurch and Wellington, were cancelled due to fog continuing to blanket the airport.
An early morning flight from Dunedin to Wellington today has been cancelled because the plane was unable to get to the city last night.
- By John Lewis, Oscar Francis and ODT Online
