Highest Waikaia River Water Levels Ever Recorded Around Piano Flat

Waikaia River water levels at Piano Flat are the highest on record, says Emergency Management Southland group controller Angus McKay.

Water levels along the Waikaia River at Piano Flat reached higher levels than the floods in February last year.

According to environmental data from Environment Southland, at 11.20 a.m. M., Water levels were 3,263 meters, 2,263 meters above normal in the Waikaia River, near Waikaia Township.

There would be more rain Sunday afternoon, but the water levels were starting to drop, McKay said.

Piano Flat campers left the site on Saturday, and some people took refuge in nearby houses.

There were only a few incidents, such as a house bus and a Ute that got stuck, he said.

Water levels were expected to peak along the Mataura River on Sunday afternoon, but would come nowhere near the damage from the February floods, he said.

After an influx of people to Waikaia for Christmas, the North Southland Township is almost deserted again after heavy rains soaked the region.

The owner of the Waikaia camp, Graeme Coats, said three-quarters of the campers had left the camp on Saturday afternoon due to flooding.

Coats had driven to Piano Flat, north of the city, to check the water levels, and soon realized that it was about to rain heavily.

It was reminiscent of the 1984 floods, when the city had experienced heavy rains, Coats said.

Once the rain had subsided, Coats expected the campers to return, as most had left their caravans behind and many were regulars who stayed for the summer, he said.

Waikaia Brown Owl Cafe owner Lindsay Brown said most of the campers had left town before floodwaters blocked the only way to get in or out of town.

The only way to enter the city was through Waikaka Township, but even then a 4WD vehicle would be recommended to combat flooding, Brown said.

The store was well stocked for residents and few campers were expected to remain in Waikaia and the roads were expected to clear around 3pm.

I didn’t expect the store to be busy on Sunday.

“Today there won’t be a huge demand for ice cream.”

Compared to the floods in February last year, there was a similar amount of rainwater volume, but Brown hadn’t noticed that the same amount of debris caused damage.

He wondered if when floodwater levels dropped, the tar would have lifted off the roads as it did in the February floods.

Kelso farmer Ian Logan, who lives on Greenvale Rd, said there were a couple of cars that got stuck trying to cross flooded roads in the area.

Some had to wait for a crane to rescue them, he said.

Often it was travelers in rental cars who did not know that the water was so deep in places that it could go over the roof of their cars, he said.

Logan wasn’t expecting too much damage on his farm, there would be some grass that would wreak havoc on the fences, but yesterday he had moved cattle into the night.

While the campers had been leaving the areas, Gore Motor Camp kept visitors to stay another night due to road closures.

Manager Guy Lloyd said some traveling campers returned Saturday because road blocks had prevented them from reaching their next destination.

A police spokeswoman said there were no weather-related incidents over the weekend.

The Southland District Council has reported that the roads around the Pyramid Bridge near Riversdale have been closed due to the swollen Mataura River.

The bridge officially opened in June after floodwaters washed away the original bridge in February 2018.

Southland District Council Transportation Strategic Manager Hartley Hare said most of the roads that were closed would reopen Monday.

They would assess the roads when water levels drop, but it would probably only be the gravel roads in the Waikaia Riversdale area that would need some grading, Hare said.

MetService meteorologist Tom Adams said there was a severe storm watch in eastern Southland and Otago, and most of the country as well.

“We don’t usually have many spells like this,” he said.

There was also the risk of large and significant accumulations of hail in those areas that could cause damage.

However, the surveillance is likely to end on Monday, and Southland will see some low clouds and rain.

“There is still some rain, but it will not come close to the intensity of the weekend.”

Clouds and some rain would remain in the region for the next few days and the persistent south would die out giving way to sunlight on Thursday and Friday.

Temperatures are likely to start rising in the coming days, peaking at 23 degrees Celsius at Invercargill on Wednesday.

Tourists from the southern region were encouraged to check the condition of the roads before leaving.

Otago Emergency Management group controller Matt Alley said three state highways remained closed at 8 a.m. Sunday, and several local highways were also affected by surface flooding, slides, landslides and debris.

“As people look forward to resuming their travels this morning, we recommend that they check road conditions before departing, abide by all road closure and detour signs, and allow additional time to navigate to their destination.”

MetService has canceled a heavy rain advisory for the Otago coast, although the rain is forecast to continue throughout the day.

There is also a moderate risk of thunderstorms Sunday afternoon that could cause localized showers and flash flooding.

Road closures remain in place, including SH 90 from Waikoikoi to Tapanui and SH 87 from Kyeburn, west of Dunedin to Outram, remained closed due to a collapse of the Kokonga Bridge.

On Sunday, the Clutha District Council reported that the Pomahaka River in Leithen Glen was beginning to fall after hitting more than 300 cumecs of water overnight.

Roads around Kelso remained closed.

Floods in the Pomahaka River area resulted in the implementation of a Water Conservation Advisory for users of the Glenkenich Rural Water Plan, the council reported.