Nine roads across Maniototo remained closed yesterday and caution was still advised on the Ida Valley-Omakau Rd, due to some surface flooding following more heavy rain in the Omakau area on Thursday.
Central Otago District Council roading manager James McCallum said yesterday the areas hardest hit were in the Maniototo and Manuherikia wards.
Surface flooding and road damage had occurred to differing extents in other areas of the district in the past couple of days, as well.
Four days of persistent rain across the district led to up to 200mm falling in some areas, combined with more isolated showers throughout the week.
"Patearoa was hit hard with the Sowburn in full flood affecting road access, the general catchment area of the Taieri River in the Maniototo has suffered widespread flooding.
"One of the Taieri River tributaries, the Kyeburn was also in full flood, which has affected access into the Dansey’s Pass."
The Manuherikia catchment also suffered flooding. Roads were closed between Omakau and Ophir and there was surface flooding along portions of the Ida Valley Rd, he said.
Surface flooding was prevalent in Omakau, Alexandra and Clyde but had since receded.
Most of the significant roading access issues would be resolved to at least a temporary access status within about a week, Mr McCallum said.
"More permanent surfacing and structural repairs will take some time and will be reliant on flows receding and some good drying out to take place."
Meanwhile, repairs and investigations were ongoing at areas identified with the potential for future flooding damage.
"The unpredictable and often unique nature that weather events can impact the district make it hard to be fully resilient and prepared, but we take the learnings from each event to help build a more resilient network."
It was too early to put a dollar figure to the damage, Mr McCallum said.
"We are still collating the damage locations as we get around the network."
