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Dramatic photos show scope of devastation to Milford Sound road

Wednesday, 5 February 2020

Damage to Milford Rd, State Highway 94, at the peak of the rainfall on Tuesday. Damaged gabion baskets along SH94, the Milford Rd, just before the Hollyford turnoff.
Damage to Milford Rd, State Highway 94, at the peak of the rainfall on Tuesday. Damaged gabion baskets along SH94, the Milford Rd, just before the Hollyford turnoff.

The full extent of the devastation to Milford Rd in Fiordland has been revealed in a series of dramatic photos. 

Damage to Milford Rd, State Highway 94, at the peak of the rainfall on Tuesday. Damaged gabion baskets along SH94, the Milford Rd, just before the Hollyford turnoff.
Damage to Milford Rd, State Highway 94, at the peak of the rainfall on Tuesday. Damaged gabion baskets along SH94, the Milford Rd, just before the Hollyford turnoff.

State Highway 94 closed on Monday due to the extreme weather hammering the region, cutting off tourist centre Milford Sound.  

The highway remains closed from Park Boundary with authorities expecting it to be at least the end of next week before even single lane access will be restored. 

Milford Sound has had more than a metre of rain since the start of February, about 240 per cent of the normal rainfall for the entire month. 

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Damaged gabion baskets along SH94, the Milford Rd, just before the Hollyford turnoff.
Damaged gabion baskets along SH94, the Milford Rd, just before the Hollyford turnoff.

* Southland chaos as towns evacuated after heavy rain

The road is not expected to reopen until at least next Friday, and even then only as a single lane.
The road is not expected to reopen until at least next Friday, and even then only as a single lane.

* Cattle herded through flooded paddocks by jet boat after heavy rain hammers Southland**

NZ Transport Agency staff are checking bridges and abutments along the Milford Route for damage. 

Journey manager Peter Brown said contractors hoped to have a road through to the Hollyford turnoff by Friday but getting even single lane access to Milford Sound could take at least another week from then. 

'While this work will be carried out as quickly as is safely possible, our immediate focus is still on establishing the extent of the damage and prioritising which repair work will be carried out first.'

Almost 200 tourists were evacuated from Milford Sound by helicopter on Wednesday morning after being trapped there since Monday. 

Much of the lower South Island has been affected by the weather: residents are being evacuated in Gore, Mataura and Wyndham, while several key roads in the area remain closed due to flooding. 

Thousands of Elton John fans are stuck in Dunedin after last night's concerts due to road closures to the south of the city.