Ongoing downpours put Central Otago and West Coast on flood watch

Tuesday, 3 December 2019

Sand bags are being placed around businesses in Wanaka as the rain continues to pour.

Queenstown, Wanaka and surrounding Central Otago areas are sandbagging to prepare for flooding as heavy rain continues to batter the lower South Island.

MetService is forecasting large downpours throughout Otago for the rest of the week, with rainfall expected to exceed warning criteria on Friday.

Precautionary flood measures were put in place for lakes Wanaka and Wakatipu overnight Wednesday, but efforts are being stepped up again.

The water at Wanaka has flooded footpaths along the shore.

Queenstown Lakes District Council said after reviewing predicted lake levels and weather patterns, 25 kilograms of sandbags and supplies of sand would be deployed to Glenorchy, Kingston and three locations in central Queenstown.

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'These locations and times will be confirmed at that time (Thursday morning), and a reminder that locals will need to bring along a shovel and appropriate transport to safely take away the sandbags.'

According to rainfall data released by the Otago Regional Council on Wednesday evening, Lake Wakatipu is at 311.05m, which is close to the level where water from the lake can enter low lying lakeside reserves and the stormwater system in Queenstown. The lake begins to overtop into lower lying parts of the Glenorchy Waterfront Reserve at a level of 311m.

Lake Wanaka is at 279.73m and low-lying parts of Ardmore St were likely to see some flooding from the lake this week, the council said. This level is above the January 2013 peak of 279.4m, but short of the November 1999 peak of 281.3m.

Lake Wanaka water spills onto the shore as lake levels continue to rise.

The lake levels and river flows were expected to be high for some weeks.

Water levels for both Lake Wanaka and Wakatipu are above alert level and heading towards historical flood amounts with more rain on the way.

A large crew of volunteers were pitching in around Wanaka to place sandbags around low-lying businesses on Wednesday.

John Shea's new fish 'n' chip shop, The Catch Wanaka, is in the line of the water.

'We just started up this new fish and chip shop – it's four days old – and we thought just to have the freshest product we may as well have the fish just swimming in,' Shea said.

'We're probably going to get wet feet … we've got everybody out, the community, anyone who cares is here.'

It is a family and community effort sand-bagging four-day old business The Catch Wanaka. Pictured is (from right): manager John Shea with owner Ian Warner, Georgia Warner, Marion Warner, Brian Warner, Stefan Grant and Foley Plumbers Wanaka workers Jordan Wood and Brett Jarvie.

Brendan Jarvie, of Jarvie Plumbing, said rain was still pouring down over the town on Wednesday morning.

'It's higher than [Tuesday] and actively rising; we're expecting a lot more.'

There were puddles and surface flooding in the reserves near the lake and low-lying walking tracks near the lake were closed.

Deep Canyon general manager Ros Goulding operates her business from a building on the edge of the lake. She said flooding was reaching the steps outside the building on Tuesday afternoon so she evacuated staff.

Passengers clap as an Air New Zealand pilot pulls off a smooth landing in Wellington. (First published in December 2019)

A video taken on the trail next to Queenstown's Hilton Hotel on Tuesday shows how high the water in Lake Wakatipu had become, with parts of the trail already flooded.

A bridge leading to a lakefront playground in Wanaka is under water as lake levels rise.

'I'd like to say it won't cause cause disruptions, but it probably will,' she said.

A park bench is surrounded by water from a flooded Lake Wakatipu on Tuesday morning.

The Shotover Jet jetty has disappeared under the Shotover River as heavy rain raises the level of the river on Wednesday.

She had not returned on Wednesday morning to see if there was damage.

Her business tours would not be able to operate because of the weather.

ROADS CLOSED BY FLOODING

In Otago, fallen trees, surface flooding and slips closed SH6 at Haast to Makarora. State Highway 8 at Tarras, between the intersections of SH8A and Maori Point Rd, was closed throughout Wednesday because of flooding but reopened shortly after 5pm.

The heavy rain also affected the West Coast.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand said a team of two drones had been sent from Christchurch to the West Coast on Wednesday afternoon.

The team, which is part of the Southern Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, will carry out assessments of areas affected by heavy rain.

'The team of two drone operators and one spotter will be monitoring and mapping rivers, bridges and flood plains from Hokitika to Buller over the next three days, and making rapid disaster assessments of the heavy rain's impact.'

State Highway 6 was closed at Inangahua on Wednesday morning as the Buller River remained high, but has since reopened.

SH63 remains closed at the Wairau River Bridge in Marlborough due to flooding. There was a warning on SH6 between Fox Glacier and Haast Pass for surface flooding.

The NZ Transport Agency also issued warnings for SH6 between Ross and Fox Glacier, and SH67 from Westport to Mokihinui due to heavy rain causing surface flooding.