SDC monitoring flood situation

Residents in the Southland district should be on alert as a large number of waterways throughout the region continue to rise.

At present most of the district’s concerns are in Western Southland with the Waiau and Aparima rivers and streams rising quickly.

There is particular concern around Otautau. Council group manager infrastructure and capital delivery Fran Mikulicic said “we are monitoring the situation there closely.”

Surface flooding is widespread across the district and motorists are advised to stay home. If travel is unavoidable, motorists should drive with extreme caution as there are many patches of road flooding throughout the district, not all of them signposted.

In some urban areas, overflowing stormwater systems have been contaminated with sewerage from wastewater. It is apparent in Winton, Lumsden and Nightcaps, where there is ponding on the sides of roads and streets. However, it is likely the problem could be more widespread, given the inundation of stormwater drains throughout Southland from the heavy rainfall.

People are strongly advised to stay away from ponding and surface flooding in townships throughout the district, and especially keep children and animals away from areas of surface flooding in built-up areas.

If you see water blowing out of manholes (as pictured) please phone us on 0800 732 732.

We will continue to provide updates on the Southland District Council website and Facebook page as we get more information.

For river updates see the Environment Southland website.

For highway conditions monitor Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s website.

Emergency Management Southland has activated its Emergency Co-ordination Centre in response to Gore District Council’s state of local emergency.

Go to cdsouthland.nz for updates.