Rural and urban people across Otago are being cautioned to keep an eye on rising rivers and streams, potential road flooding, landslips and to look at safeguarding stock – with a further round of thunderstorms and localised rain expected from 2pm-9pm today.

 Earlier today Metservice issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Dunedin, Central Otago, and North Otago, as a trough, brings increasingly unstable conditions to southern and central parts of the country.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means people in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and monitor for a possible upgrade to Severe Thunderstorm Warnings.

 ORC’s Manager Natural Hazards Dr Jean-Luc Payan says the thunderstorms can produce heavy localised rain anywhere and the watch was mainly for Dunedin and coastal areas, Central Otago and North Otago.

 “As we saw yesterday, isolated and localised rain can fall to extreme levels, of around 80mm-90mm per hour,” he says of several areas hard hit yesterday: near Millers Flat, Beaumont-Lawrence, Tuapeka Mouth and Clydevale.

 Metservice says the thunderstorms today are expected to generate localised heavy rain (10 to 25 mm per hour) and hail. Additionally, between 2 and 9 pm, there is a moderate risk that storms in Dunedin and coastal, Central Otago and North Otago could become “severe’’ delivering localised downpours (25 to 35 mm per hour) and large hail stones.

 Although there was localised flooding around properties and on roads yesterday, the Clutha River among others tracked by the ORC did not rise to flood warning levels, Dr Payan says.

 “With these forecast intensities, the risk is more likely for individual properties, farming activities and roads,” he said.

 Waterway monitoring is accessible through ORC’s website and Environmental Data Portal (https://envdata.orc.govt.nz/),

while rain and thunderstorms can be tracked on Metservice’s Rain Radar (https://www.metservice.com/maps-radar/rain/radar?range=300&tab=real-time).

 Whether rural or urban, people should be aware of the potential for creeks, streams and rivers to rise rapidly and for roads to be affected by surface flooding, prompting dangerous conditions and possible closures.

 Rainfall of this intensity can trigger s landslides in steep areas, both urban and rural, which people should be aware of.

In rural communities, Dr Payan said farmers should be considering whether they needed to move stock and machinery away from low lying waterways, flats areas or gullies.

 “Check on your neighbours too,” Dr Payan suggested.

 Emergency Management Otago and ORC is advising people not to travel during thunderstorms and to stay away from streams and rivers.

 Should a thunderstorm warning be issued, Emergency Management Otago recommend:

- Take shelter, preferably indoors away from windows;
- Avoid sheltering under trees, if outside;
- Get back to land, if outdoors on the water;
- Move cars and machinery under cover or away from trees;
- Secure any loose objects around properties;
- Check drains and gutters are clear;
- Be ready to slow down or stop, if driving.

 During and after the storm, you should also:

- Beware of road flooding, slips and debris;
- Beware of fallen trees and power lines;
- Avoid streams and drains as people could be swept away in flash flooding.

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