Representatives from the Otago Regional Council (ORC), Queenstown Lakes District Council and Emergency Management Otago will visit businesses with premises close to Lake Wanaka and Lake Wakatipu today and tomorrow as part of the annual flood awareness campaign.
The low-lying areas are periodically affected by floods, most notably in December 1999 when Queenstown had its worst flood in history. The level of Lake Wakatipu rose to 2m above normal lake level, causing widespread damage.
ORC engineering, hazards and science director Gavin Palmer said due to regular staff turnover in the Lakes district, the three organisations carried out annual visits, explaining the flood risk and providing information on how to be prepared.
They would visit businesses in the flood zone of both towns today and tomorrow.
Staff would also be manning a marquee to talk about flooding at Queenstown's Earnslaw Park from noon until 4pm today, and in Wanaka, on the corner of Ardmore and Helwick Sts, from 9am to 1pm tomorrow.
Emergency management officer for Wakatipu and Central Otago Trevor Andrews said the team had a lot of practical information on flooding in the area and residents usually had ''several days' notice'' before the flooding occurred.
''So, the more they know how to prepare, the better placed they will be to reduce the impact.''
