State of emergency on the South Island’s east coast

• notices and features
• 7 years ago
• Categories: climate change, disaster, Environment
• Tags: civil defence, flood, state of emergency

Civil Defence have declared states of emergency in Dunedin, Otago, Waitaki and Timaru and evacuations are happening in some areas. Keep safe folks.

Advice from TS commenter Sabine,

essentially if you live in an area that you might have to evacuate, have your survival bag (papers, cash, bank cards, photos, stuff) ready, have a 5-10 gasoline tin to take, have torches, have your animals chipped and registered, find out your nearest evac centre (good luck with that in AKL – as the civil defense will let people know where to go in case of – yeah, not making that up) and have a plan ready with your whanau on how to meet up should you all be in different parts of town due to work/school etc.

Also find out if there are shelters that will take pets, as a lot of time that is not allowed.

If you worry that you might not be at home at time of an emergency set up a system with locals to check on pets, but also to check on people who might be housebound.

From Stuff (8.30pm Fri)

• Dunedin and Timaru and the Waitaki region have all declared a state of emergency.
• The NZ Army has been called in to assist Civil Defence in Timaru.
• South Cantabrians living near flood-prone areas have been urged to prepare for evacuation.
• Homes in Ashburton were flooded on Friday morning.
• A home in Oamaru was evacuated after rising floodwaters submerged streets and bridges.
• Drivers were trapped in their cars in floodwaters near Rakaia in Canterbury.
• Sandbags were being prepared in Ashburton and Dunedin to combat flooding.
• Nearly 1000 properties lost power across Mid Canterbury in the storm early this afternoon.
• The storm is expected to create “widespread disruption”, with Canterbury and Otago to cop the brunt of it.
• The heaviest rainfalls are expected in Dunedin – up to 200mm over a 27-hour period. Parts of Canterbury could receive up to 180mm of rain before noon Saturday.
• The flooding closed roads throughout Canterbury. A full list of up-to-date information on road conditions is available HERE.
•  The New Zealand Transport Agency has closed SH1 between Palmerston and Waitati. It is also closed between Pukeuri in North Otago and Redruth, South Canterbury, due to flooding.
• SH82 remains closed between Waimate and Kurow. The only highway connecting the Canterbury and Otago regions is SH8 between Twizel and Omarama. Chains are now essential on Lindis Pass.

RNZ overview (9pm Fri) and live coverage.

Updates (midnight Friday)

The Herald

Dunedin Civil Defence Emergency Management controller Sue Bidrose has said in a media conference that based on information available indicates “this will be one of the biggest floods on record on the Taieri [River]”.

It’s currently flowing about 1200 cubic metres per second, 100 cubic metres per second more than the level at which authorities usually open the flood gates.

Emergency services have evacuated homes near the river’s upper ponding area. 

“They’re just evacuating the last of the cattle and as soon as those cows are moved then they will be opening those flood gates,” Bidrose said.

Residents on Gordon Rd spillway have also been told to leave their houses.

Taieri flooding area map.

The increase in flow (cumecs) on the Taieri River, compared to past 7 days and last 180 days,