Driver freed from car trapped in floodwaters as rescuers race to second crash on same road
The slow-moving storm that flooded communities and triggered states of emergency in the southern South Island is expected to unleash its worst on northern Canterbury and Marlborough today, where up to 400mm of rain is forecast.
Otago was pummelled by flash flooding and heavy snow yesterday, with roads closed, the Taieri River bursting its banks and hundreds of homes losing power after more than 100mm of rain fell across parts of Dunedin and Ōamaru in 24 hours.
A Red Heavy Rain Warning was issued for parts of Marlborough and northern Canterbury yesterday afternoon and remains in force until early tomorrow.
MetService meteorologist Katie Lyons said a slow-moving low near the top of the North Island was allowing persistent southeasterlies to feed rain into eastern Marlborough and northern Canterbury.
“That’s where we’re expecting the worst rainfall, so that’s to be taken quite seriously,” she said, warning flooding, slips and dangerous driving conditions remained on the cards.
“That’s definitely what happened in Dunedin and Clutha where people were trapped by floodwaters and needed to be evacuated.
“So that is a very real possibility for not just the red warning area but also the orange warning areas as well.”
Lyons said people were often better “staying put”, but if floodwaters began rising it was “always better to make that call early” than wish they had left sooner.
The “long-lived” event would bring its heaviest rain overnight and today, with bursts of 15 to 25mm an hour expected to “push things over the edge” for some communities.
A wider swathe of Marlborough remained under an Orange Heavy Rain Warning, with a high chance more areas would be upgraded to Red, Lyons said.
Conditions should begin easing from Wednesday morning, although it would take until Thursday, and for parts of Marlborough, late Thursday into Friday, before the system fully cleared.
Dunedin is expected to catch a break today with mostly cloudy skies and only possible drizzle forecast after yesterday’s flooding and snow.
The damp start to the school holidays continues in Auckland, where showery conditions were expected to linger today as the slow-moving system stalls over the country, Lyons said.
Rain is expected across Wellington and Wairarapa today, where a Heavy Rain Watch remains in force until midnight on Wednesday.
“Comparatively, we’re expecting it to be a bit worse for Wairarapa because they’re on that eastern side, while Wellington’s a touch more sheltered,” she said.
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