South Canterbury, North Otago foothills flood warnings

Environment Canterbury is warning land owners that Met Service forecasts for south of the Waimakariri River to North Otago, are for periods of heavy rain and southeast gales from Monday morning to Tuesday.

In the southern area, from the North Otago ranges to the Canterbury foothills south of the Rangitata River, up to 250 mls of rain is forecast for the 42 hours from 6 am Monday (May 24) to midnight Tuesday (May 25). A severe weather watch is in place for North Otago through to Marlborough.

“These are extreme amounts of rain and will result in a lot of surface flooding from local streams and also the possibility of flooding from larger foothill rivers,” said Phil Lees, Environment Canterbury’s Timaru Flood Incident Controller.

“Environment Canterbury will be monitoring rain and river flows from our network of rain and river flow recorders through Monday and advising local emergency services. This rainfall and flow data will be available on the Environment Canterbury web site (www.ecan.govt.nz) and from the flood phone 0900 RIVER (74 837). Warnings will be broadcast over local radio stations as necessary.

“Farmers with stock in low-lying areas close to rivers should shift them to higher ground and monitor the river situation very closely, “Mr Lees said.

Using excavators, Environment Canterbury will be opening the river mouths of Saltwater Creek (south of Timaru) and Washdyke Creek (north of Timaru) early Monday morning, May 24, in anticipation of flooding. These are currently blocked with gravel.

For more about the latest river flows call the Environment Canterbury 24 Hour River Report Info Line 0900 RIVER (74837). Charges do apply.

Or you can check river levels and rain recorders on our website – www.ecan.govt.nz

http://ecan.govt.nz/services/online-services/monitoring/river-flows/pages/default.aspx

http://ecan.govt.nz/services/online-services/monitoring/rainfall/Pages/Default.aspx

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