As flood waters recede roads are reopening and civil defence authorities will this morning be assessing damage Mataura before deciding if residents can return.
Roading
Southland is no longer isolated this morning and despite parts of SH1 remaining closed South of Gore, Emergency Management Southland said last night access was available for light vehicles from Dunedin to Invercargill using some detours.
All roads to Mataura, including the road from Clinton, remained closed as the cordon of the town remained in place. However motorists could get access between Gore and Invercargill via Hedgehope and Waimumu.
SH1 from Dunedin to Gore is fully reopened and this morning SH6 between Braxholme-Makarewa Rd and Breeze Rd reopened.
Gore District Council said on it's Facebook page it was aware Mataura residents were frustrated by the lack of news.
"There are crews on the ground there now working hard to make this happen as soon as it is safe.
"The immediate priority is to assess the industrial areas, including the Paper Mill.
"Fire and Emergency are on site now and also assessing the flooded residential areas to undertake street-by-street assessments.
"Early indications are that the flooding is not as bad as it could have been.
"We know you are keen to get home and just want to make sure it’s safe first."
SH6 Frankton to Five Rivers remains closed but has had a number of successful convoys last evening and more this morning to get traffic out of Te Anau via Five Rivers and onto Queenstown, where roads are open to the north. The road is now closed for the final repairs and rockfall area inspections before an expected mid-afternoon opening.
SH6, the Makarewa Bridge north of Invercargill has reopened. Stop/go traffic management site is in place, so people should be ready for delays. This opens up access to Invercargill from the north. The bridge over the Makarewa before Wallacetown on SH99 remains closed.
Clutha District issues
Civil Defence reports a state of emergency continues in Clutha District and local roads managed by the councils are still close at Owaka in the Catlins where flooding is continuing to affect access as of this morning. The road remains closed south of Papatowai for travel south to Invercargill. The Fortrose-Wyndham area is still experiencing significant flooding.
Mataura and Wyndham
Emergency Management Southland said it has been making damage assessments in Wyndham and Mataura this morning.
"Residents of Wyndham can return home but are being advised to be very careful driving as there is significant damage to roads and bridges surrounding the town. There is no direct road access from Edendale or Mataura and if people are not in the local area, they will not be able to get home to Wyndham.
"The stopbanks alongside the Mataura River held back the floodwaters so there is unlikely to be flood water in the town. There is, however, likely to be damage to infrastructure so Wyndham residents are asked to restrict water and toilet use. Southland District Council teams are assessing this today," ir said.
"The town of Mataura remains cut off with cordons in place until emergency teams have completed assessments of flooding and infrastructure damage. People are advised not to attempt to travel to or through Mataura on SH1, SH93 or SH96."
Emergency Management Southland controller Bruce Halligan said he realised that people were very keen to get back to their homes.
It was aware of concerns following reports of some flooding on the main streets of Mataura, but added that floodwaters were receding.
There were two key tasks that needed to be completed before a decision was made on whether residents could return:
1. Roads and bridges need to be assessed by experts to ensure they are safe to travel on, and to understand the extent of any damage to key infrastructure.
2. Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) will assess the paper mill site, and any impact in relation to the Ouvea Premix stored there.
"Our first concern is for people’s safety.
"We understand that people who have been evacuated are very keen to get back to their properties, but they should not attempt to return until we have carried out the assessments," Emergency Management Southland controller Angus McKay said.
In Fiordland SH94 is now reopened to Knobs Flat, but is expected to be reopened to Cascade Creek at 4pm, with access to the Divide or Hollyford Turnoff expected to be restored tomorrow afternoon.
However, the Milford Rd was expected to remain closed until at least Wednesday next week due to extensive damage.
SH94 from Gore to Mandeville has also reopened.
Earlier story
A state of emergency remains in force in Southland and dozens of roads across both Otago and Southland remain closed.
The Mataura River was the main concern yesterday as it peaked at 2500cumecs at Gore at 10am, spilling over into the surrounding area.
More than 2400 people evacuated from their homes in Gore were able to start returning home last night, but those living in Wyndham and closer to the coast remained out of their homes overnight; that included a group of 18 rest-home residents who were flown to Southland Hospital by helicopter.
Police, fire, council staff and volunteers worked together with Emergency Management Southland to manage and co-ordinate the evacuations.
Mataura residents stayed at evacuation centres last night. The situation would be reassessed as soon as possible.
Civil Defence authorities and Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor declared the flooding to be a medium scale adverse event, opening the way for extra support to be offered to farmers and growers, and $100,000 was made available through Rural Support Trusts to speed up recovery and provide technical advice.
Mr O’Connor, who had flown over the affected areas, said the response to the flooding event had been ‘‘absolutely amazing’’.
‘‘It seems as though everything is under control ... but clearly we are going to have to wait and see when the water goes down the extent of the damage.’’
The $100,000 was initial funding and more money might be available as the full extent of the damage to farms was revealed over the coming days, he said.
Southland Mayor Gary Tong praised the response by Civil Defence authorities and also singled out the emergency response in Milford, where more than 300 visitors had been stuck after the Milford Rd was significantly damaged by the flooding, as ‘‘fantastic’’.
‘‘The extensiveness of the damage in there is mind-boggling. It’s a wonder we did not lose a life in there.’’
To get the last 195 visitors out of there yesterday had been a good effort, he said.
Yesterday, the Southern DHB set up an emergency operations centre and the NZDF sent a helicopter, two Unimog trucks and soldiers to assess damage and assist in evacuations in eastern Southland.
Residents in low-lying areas of Balclutha had been warned about lunch-time to be ready to evacuate over concerns a breach in a floodbank could flood much of the town, although Mayor Bryan Cadogan said the situation had stabilised by 5.30pm.
Convoys were organised yesterday to allow travel out of Te Anau from the Five Rivers junction (the intersection of State Highways 6 and 97) through to Frankton on the closed section of SH6, where the highways to the north were open.
The convoys operated on the hour from 4pm until 8pm, when the route closed again.
More convoys have been organised for this morning at 7am, 8am and 9am.
NZTA journey manager Peter Brown said the highway between Frankton and Five Rivers/Lumsden was closed by slips and there were rockfall concerns, which was why traffic had to be managed in convoy.
It was aiming to have the route open again this afternoon.
Access to Invercargill from Te Anau or Queenstown was not available last night due to the Makarewa River levels closing two key bridges.
Two freight trains were halted in their tracks by the flooding in the Gore area on Monday night.
A Kiwirail spokesman said the trains had been secured and would be moved after the track had been inspected and any necessary repairs had been carried out. The continuing high water levels meant inspections had not yet started.
Evacuations reportedly went smoothly, except for two Southland residents being arrested for failing to comply with police instructions.
Mataura pensioner Chris Couzens was reported as saying he was handcuffed by police and escorted away for refusing to evacuate and leave his animals behind.
He said he and his wife were taken to the Mataura police station.
A police spokesperson did not confirm details about the incident, but said two people were arrested in relation to failing to comply with police instructions.
‘‘We are currently speaking with them.’’
