High wind in Southland yesterday kept emergency services busy as it uprooted trees, lifted roofing iron, cut power and overturned a large trailer.
State Highway 6 was closed early yesterday afternoon just north of Winton after a combination of sodden ground and high winds uprooted several large bluegums and left them leaning precariously.
The road remained closed overnight and may stay that way for some time today. A detour is available.
The bluegums were in danger of falling on to power lines and across the highway so the decision was made to close the road and wait until the wind dropped and it was safe to remove them, Senior Constable Jim Mangos, of Winton, said.
Another large bluegum fell across a country road south of Winton and was removed by the landowner, he said.
The Nightcaps-Ohai road in Western Southland was closed for some hours yesterday afternoon after a truck trailer overturned shortly after 1pm.
The Transport Services Southland trailer was carrying palm kernel stock food, Nightcaps police officer Senior Constable Mark Wishart said.
No-one was injured but it took time to clear the debris and right the trailer, he said.
Firefighters in Invercargill, Winton and several parts of rural Southland were called out to secure loose roofing iron.
In Invercargill, a large tree fell across one lane of Bluff Rd, South Invercargill, in the morning and another nearby fell across the Invercargill-Bluff railway line.
No damage was caused.
Another large pine tree was uprooted in Donovan Park, in northern Invercargill, he said. It was leaning against another tree and would be removed once it was safe to do so.
PowerNet, which manages electricity lines across most of Southland and into West Otago, said its staff were busy all day repairing power outages across almost all parts of its network.
Spokesman Keith Burns said no sooner had power been restored in one area, than reports of new outages came in from another area, and staff were continuing to work through the repairs as quickly as they could.
Three rural Southland roads remain closed this morning. Taramoa-West Plains Rd, just north of Invercargill, is closed because of flooding, while the Ohai-Clifden Highway in Western Southland is closed between Twinlaw Rd and Scotts Gap Feldwick Rd because of a slip. A detour is in place.
Walker Rd, Woodlands, is closed because of a collapsed culvert/bridge.
