A dozen rural roads in North Otago were closed yesterday by localised flooding and surface water.
A severe weather warning issued by the MetService on Tuesday, originally forecast 100mm of rain, with heavy falls of 10mm-15mm an hour for a 21-hour period between midnight Tuesday and 6pm yesterday, and although that forecast was downgraded yesterday morning, residents were still advised to take precautions in case of flooding.
Waitaki District Council emergency services manager Chris Raine said 3mm-4mm an hour was recorded.
Mr Raine said rain was expected to ease today, but river levels would rise for a time and added some rural water supplies might be turned off if intakes became muddy.
