Gore warned of early flood peaks, as bad weather finally expected to ease across the south

Tuesday, 4 February 2020

Gore could be hit by flood peaks as floodwaters wash downstream following days of torrential rain, though the weather is set to ease up.

Southland Civil Defence declared a state of emergency for the region on Tuesday afternoon, including Gore, following Monday's declaration for Milford Sound, where 195 tourists remained trapped.

Late on Tuesday, Emergency Management Southland said modelling data suggested levels in the Mataura catchment could hit levels seen the 1999 floods, the first at 5am.

However after three days of relentless rain, the thunderstorms and fronts causing the wet weather were finally set to leave the region.

Flooding in Gore on Tuesday. But finally, the rain is set to ease.

* State of emergency declared in Southland as water levels rise

Southland declared a State of Emergency due to flooding on Tuesday.

* Trampers in Fiordland recall 'roaring' noise before hut is hit by a landslide

* Fiordland weather emergency: Conditions went from 'zero to 100' in seconds**

MetService's heavy rain warning for the Wetland, Otago and Southland areas were set to expire overnight on Tuesday.

A heavy rain watch for the Buller area was also set to expire overnight.

While strong wind watches for Wellington and the Wairarapa were set to finish in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

MetService stated that a series of fronts were forecast to move slowly east across the South Island on Tuesday evening, bringing some further heavy rain to the west and south of the South Island, including the Southern Alps.

However that rain wasn't expected to linger in the south, with it instead tracking northwards over the North Island on Wednesday.

WEATHER IN THE MAIN CENTRES

Images of flooding taken around Gore on Tuesday.

Dunedin's weather on Wednesday would see some showers early in the morning that were expected to clear before fine weather took hold. A high of 20 degrees Celsius was forecast.

For places such as Gore, that was badly hit by heavy rain and flooding, Wednesday's weather would see a partly cloudy day with possible showers in the afternoon. A high of 17C was forecast.

In Christchurch, morning showers on Wednesday would also clear and gradually become fine. A high of 18C was expected.

For those in Wellington, showers and southerly winds were forecast for the morning but were expected to clear in the afternoon. A high of 19C was expected.

And in Auckland, residents can expect cloudy patches throughout the day, becoming fine later on. A high of 23C was forecast.

ROAD CLOSURES

On Tuesday, the Gore District Council had advised motorists not to travel unless it was absolutely necessary due to flooding, which has slo threatened some homes.

The council was also keeping a close eye on the Otama Water Supply pipeline, which crosses the Mataura River at Pyramid.

On Tuesday, there were several state highways that were closed: SH1 Gore to Clinton, SH1 Mataura to Gore, SH90 McNab to Tapanui, from SH1 intersection to Station Rd, SH90 between SH1 and Station Rd.

SH97 Mossburn to SH6 intersection SH97 is CLOSED. State Highway 94 is closed from Park Boundary and SH96 from Lumsden to Frankton.

Flooding in the district and in West Otago also forced 17 schools and two early childhood centres to close on Tuesday. The closures affected 1877 school students and 70 children in early learning.