Canterbury flooding: What you need to know

Monday, 31 May 2021

High flood waters on the Waimakariri River after heavy rain in the Canterbury region.

A state of emergency had been declared for the flood-hit region of Canterbury.

Civil Defence has warned people to expect ongoing dangerous river conditions and further flooding, with an “evacuate now” warning to all residents of The Pines Beach, Canterbury.

Do you have any flooding photos or videos? Send them to us at newstips@stuff.co.nz

Here’s what you need to know.

* Canterbury floods: More stress for communities already hit by fires, quakes

Flood updates

Ashburton River on Monday morning swells during heavy flooding in Canterbury.

Slips and floodwaters will continue to disrupt travel, making some roads impassable and possibly isolating communities.

The next high tide was at 9.01pm. Beach areas will be closely monitored during this time.

The Waimakariri river was still swollen and overflowing on Monday morning.

Hundreds of Canterbury residents, including the entire town of Springfield in the Selwyn district, have been evacuated from their homes due to rising river levels.

Canterbury residents can text the name of most local rivers to 3730 to receive free and official flood updates and evacuation notices. They will need to ensure the name of the river is capitalised.

While the flooding in Akaroa has receded after contractors unblocked the major stormwater pipe, there was still flooding and slips in other parts of Banks Peninsula on Monday evening. People travelling in the area are asked to exercise extreme care.

Evacuations

Waimakariri District Council advised residents of low-lying areas of The Pines Beach to continue to evacuate in advance of the 9pm high tide. A flood gate is stuck open and low areas are likely to flood.

Roger Harper captured this photo showing damage to a bridge over the Waihi River at Winchester. This on is SH72 leading to Geraldine.

It said there is still a risk of localised flooding in Waikuku and The Pines Beach.

It's recommended that Waikuku and Saltwater Creek residents prepare to evacuate. However, this isn’t mandatory yet.

The council said localised flooding is more likely to the south of the Waikuku Beach area including Swindells Road and the northern section of Park Terrace.

Staff from the Council and Environment Canterbury will continue to monitor these areas through till midnight.

Evacuation maps are available online and updates will be available on the council’s Facebook page.

Residents in risky areas should continue to keep their mobile phones switched on and close to hand overnight.

An emergency alert will be sent to the affected areas and emergency services will be deployed in the event of another evacuation.

Surface flooding closed Kellands Rd in Timaru on Monday morning.

Civil Defence has opened two welfare centres based at Rangiora Baptist Church, 111 Eastbelt; and Mandeville Sports Centre, 405 Mandeville Rd.

Waimakariri District Council said Fernside residents, between Oxford Rd/Mount Thomas Rd and the Ashley River, who had previously evacuated are now able to return to their homes.

Meanwhile, Ashburton District Council is encouraging residents to prepare for an evacuation if needed, despite water flow conditions improving.

”No-one has been evacuated by council today [Monday]. A handful of residents self evacuated to family and friends. Evacuation plan is ready should we need it,” it said.

Official warnings

Officials have urged people to stay home and keep off the roads amid heavy flooding.

Civil Defence warned rising water and flash floods can happen quickly.

Army vehicles drive along Stafford St, Timaru, on Monday morning.

“If you see rising water do not wait for official warnings. Head for higher ground and stay away from floodwater,” its website said.

Residents are also instructed to turn off electricity if water enters homes and to check on neighbours if safe to do so.

If someone’s life, health or property is in danger, call 111.

Water usage

Timaru District Council is asking residents to conserve water where possible.

The council said it has turned off the water intakes for all urban and rural customers “as it is too silty to treat”.

Boil water notices are in place for urban Geraldine, Downlands and Te Moana, with an “extreme conservation notice” in place for Te Moana and Peel Forest customers.

Christchurch City Council is also asking residents in the Akaroa harbour area to continue to conserve water, particularly residents in Duvauchelle who are asked only to use water required for essential purposes.

Meanwhile, people are advised to avoid all contact with floodwater from Ashburton South to the coast – including Lake Hood – due to wastewater from Ashburton’s treatment ponds contaminating downstream floodwater.

Wastewater treatment plants at Rangiora and Oxford are also at capacity due to rainfall making its way through the sewer system.

Road closures

There are state highway closures in place throughout Canterbury as weather conditions continue to worsen.

State Highway 75 is closed between Barrys Bay to Birdlings Flat, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency announced in an update on Monday afternoon.

State Highway 82 Station Peak is open.

State Highway 8 Fairlie to Tekapo (Burkes Pass) is also now open.

State Highway 1 is open in Ashburton near Saunders Rd, State Highway 1/8 is open from Timaru to Fairlie, and State Highway 82 is open at Station Peak.

Selwyn District Council announced temporary limited access to and from the Leeston, Doyleston, Southbridge area would be available on Monday evening between 8pm and 11pm.

This temporary access is for residents and essential travel only and was set to close at 11pm. Access will be reassessed in the morning.

SH1 south of Selwyn Lake Road will remain closed due to the dangerous road conditions.

The following closures remain in place:

SH1 Burnham to Dunsandel

SH1 Temuka between Arowhenua Rd and Huirapa St

SH1 Hinds River Bridge between Delamaine St and Lynnford Rd

An aerial view of the flooded Temuka River at the Manse bridge.

SH73 Springfield to Castle Hill

SH75 Barrys Bay to Birdlings Flat

SH77 Darfield to Mount Hutt

SH77 Rakaia Gorge to Methven

SH77 Glentunnel to Windwhistle

SH79 Fairlie to Rangitata.

Check for more road closures here.

Bridges

Four bridges in the district are damaged and not passable, Ashburton District Mayor Neil Brown said in a flood update on Monday afternoon.

Waimakariri Bridge on State Highway 1 and the Old Waimakariri Bridge are currently open. River levels are being actively monitored at both sites.

The Diversion Bridge on South Eyre Rd and Poyntzs Rd Bridge are open. As well as Poyntz Rd Bridge.

Harewood Rd bridge remains closed and is under assessment by engineers.

Akaroa residents are being asked to conserve water.

All other bridges across the district will be inspected for potential damage. All fords are closed.

River updates

River levels are dropping at Eyre River and Ashley/Rakahuri, engineers have confirmed.

At Waimakariri river, levels are within the capacity of the stop banks.

Levels are still high at Cust River and Cam/Kaiapoi.

View Hill Stream is flowing over Depot Rd at various locations, but the road is open.

However, advice remains for people to only cross if necessary and to do so with caution.

On Monday evening, Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown announced that the Ashburton River is dropping.

School closures

Banks Peninsula’s Little River School evacuated its students about 10.30am when the stream behind the school started to flood.

The Ministry of Education has confirmed 52 schools, kura and 24 early learning services will be shut.

Any closures of schools and early learning services are decided on a case-by-case basis at the decision of the organisation.

Students, parents and whānau are encouraged to check closures and updates through regular channels such as websites or social media.

Disruption to services

NZ Post has suspended deliveries in all areas with a state of emergency in place.

This covers most of Canterbury, including areas around Christchurch, but deliveries will continue in the city itself.

NZ Post will still operate services from Dunedin to Invercargill and Dunedin to Central Otago, but all other transport services operating south of Christchurch will be suspended.

A Countdown spokeswoman said almost all of its lower South Island deliveries had been impacted by flooding-related road disruptions, including south of Christchurch, Queenstown, Invercargill and Dunedin.

“We are closely watching the roads and as routes re-open we’ll be ready with the deliveries as quickly as we can,” she said.

Forecasts

The MetService’s weather red alert for Cantebury has officially been lifted.

The complex area of low pressure that was responsible for heavy rains that inundated the region – causing widespread flooding, and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes and closing dozens of roads – is expected to move east on Monday, followed by a cool southerly flow on Tuesday and a ridge of high pressure.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) reported 188 millimetres of rain has fallen in Akaroa between 9am Saturday and 9am Monday.

Up until Friday, 127.8mm of rain had fallen since January 1.