As of 5.50pm

“Unless you absolutely have to, please avoid travel in the region as many parts of Otago are affected by this event. Roads may close and these will be sign posted. However, rivers and streams can rise fast and we don’t want anyone caught out by this, “says Group Manager for Emergency Management Otago (EMO), Matt Alley.

“Areas of concern from Otago Regional Council modelling so far show that people should be particularly wary rising waters of the Silverstream at Gordon Rd, on the edge of Mosgiel township; Balclutha, and the Pomahaka and coastal communities around the Tokomairiro area.”

“If you have livestock or horses in paddocks near waterways that have the potential to flood (streams, rivers etc.) if you can do so safely, please move them to higher ground. Stock should be moved to areas which will be easily accessible in case they need assistance, supplementary feed, or veterinary treatment.  Please also be prepared with your pets in case the situation escalates. “

The Silverstream is forecast to peak at 120 cumecs, which would mean some spillover to the right of the Gordon St Bridge – this is farmland. The Leith and Lindsay rivers are expected to peak below flood thresholds. Peak times for Silverstream, Leith and Lindsay around midnight tonight, second peak tomorrow afternoon. 

The Clutha River at Balclutha, Pomahaka at Burkes Ford and Waitahuna River at Tweeds bridge. In South Otago the Tokomairiro and Pomahaka will rise to their third alarm levels but no flooding/impact is expected.  The Clutha River at Balclutha may reach a peak of ~1900-2000 cumecs - slightly above the third flood warning. This is an awareness alarm with no flooding expected at this stage.  

The Dunedin City Council has activated its emergency operations centre and Clutha and Waitaki are both actively monitoring.

“We are working closely with partner agencies, including emergency services and local and central government.” 

Clutha District Council has closed some roads around the Milton area – and people in that area are urged to monitor their facebook and website for updates.

Metservice have issued a Red Severe Weather Warning for North Otago, Dunedin and coastal Clutha from 11am this morning until 9:00pm Friday. We expect 120 to 150 mm of rain with the heaviest falls about the eastern hills.

Group Manager for EMO, Matt Alley said” Our team along with the Otago Regional Council and local Councils are closely monitoring this weather event and are ready to respond should there be impacts across our communities”.

It is a timely reminder for people to ensure their household plan, emergency supplies and getaway kits are prepared and Mr Alley advises residents to keep away from low lying flood prone areas, not to drive through any flood water, act quickly to self-evacuate if you see rising water and be ready for power and communications outages.

We encourage people to keep up date with weather forecast and road conditions through Waka Kotahi and local their councils. These include Dunedin City Council, Clutha District Council, Central Otago District Council and the Waitaki District Council.

ORC’s General Manager Science and Resilience Tom Dyer says ORC flood response crews responsible for flood control areas including the Leith Valley, Taieri/Silverstream and the Clutha schemes area have been preparing for the weather event. They have extra contractors on standby and have opened coastal river mouths as a precaution. Pumps on these schemes are also activated.

 “MetService have told us that their predictions mean Dunedin Coastal area is currently the area of most concern, and our staff will be keeping a very close eye on rivers, streams, and associated flood schemes, in this area.

“We expect all rivers across coastal and southern Otago to rise throughout the evening. Key rivers we are focused on at this stage include the Taieri River, the Silverstream, Leith stream, the Pomahaka  and Tokomairiro rivers.

People needing information about river, stream and water flows can visit the ORC Environmental Data Portal.