Some residents in Waimakariri District told to evacuate

May 30, 2021

Some locals in Canterbury has already evacuated.

Recap of what happened as the weather event unfolded across Canterbury.


What we know so far: 

  • A red alert warning was issued for Canterbury south of Amberly yesterday. 
  • Last night, heavy rain set in across the region. 
  • Today, a State of Emergency has been declared in Ashburton, Selwyn and Timaru. 
  • Christchurch Mayor, Lianne Dalziel has authorised a region-wide Civil Defence emergency.
  • The Ashburton River levels are rising amid heavy rain fall across the Canterbury region.
  • Residents on the north and south side of the river have been told to prepare for evacuations. 
  • Around 2000 residents lost power overnight due to the weather.
  • 8.55pm: Some residents in the Waimakariri District have been told to evacuate as river levels continue to rise. Local council say the Eyre river banks are expected to fail and everyone along the river from Wolffs Road and north of the Eyre River to North Eyre Road must leave immediately.

    Fernside residents between Mt Thomas Road, Oxford Road and Merton Road have also been told to evacuate immediately with the Ashely river at risk of failing soon too.

    One evacuation centre is already full and residents have been told to head to Rangiora Baptist Church. You can find the map of the areas being evacuated  here.

    Rangiora urban areas are said to be safe.

    The red warning continues for Canterbury until 11am tomorrow with severe heavy rain and severe gales predicted.

    Conditions are still expected to deteriorate overnight with rivers expected to rise causing flooding and continued road closures.

    Severe gales of up to 120km/hr are also expected for large parts of the South Island through to 1pm tomorrow in some areas.

    7.48pm: The Ministry of Education said in a statement tonight that by 7.00pm this evening, 52 schools and kura, of the region’s 292, and 24 early learning services, of 544, had confirmed to the ministry they would close.

    "Any closures of schools and early learning services tomorrow, due to heavy rainfall and flooding in Canterbury, are a matter for each School Board or service manager to decide on a case by case basis," the ministry said.

    "Students, parents and whānau are encouraged to check with their schools, kura or early learning service on the status for tomorrow, via regular channels such as their websites."

    The Deputy Secretary for Sector Enablement and Support, Katrina Casey, says "a state of emergency does not automatically mean schools and early learning services will close. Boards and service managers are best placed to assess their local conditions and make these decisions.

    "Many have indicated they will make an assessment and a final decision early tomorrow morning.

    "We are working closely with those schools, kura and early learning services that need additional advice and support."

    7.45pm: The Selwyn District Council says its Emergency Operations Centre will be scaling down overnight and will reopen at 6.00am tomorrow. Roading contractors and engineers will be continuing to monitor the situation overnight.

    It comes as the precautionary evacuation of Selwyn Huts was completed this afternoon.

    "We have provided support for a few Huts residents at Lincoln Event Centre, and we are currently assessing whether any accommodation is needed overnight. The centre at LEC will close overnight. Access road to the Selwyn Huts settlement is now closed and we have security in place," the Council said on their website. 

    "Late this afternoon Fire and Emergency coordinated the evacuation of around 20 homes in Springfield. A community emergency centre is available at the Darfield Recreation Centre, and we will be organising accommodation for any residents that need it tonight.

    "A group of seven campers is being accommodated at the Glentunnel Community Centre, and another group of 15 who were camping at Lake Lyndon are being accommodated at the Lake Coleridge Community Centre."

    7.20pm: Power outages have flared up again in Christchurch. Papanui, Hornby and Wainui have been affected the most - about 100 outages were reported at about 7pm. 

    6.15pm:  Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel has declared a regional Civil Defence emergency .

    Acting Minister for Emergency Management Kris Faafoi says it means the whole region can now offer resources to assist those towns affected by flooding.
     

    5.45pm: Further road closures have been announced in the Canterbury region. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport says SH1 Hinds River Bridge is closed due to flooding.

    There are six other closures in place on SH1 Temuka, SH73 Springfield to Castle Hill, SH77 Rakaia Gorge to Methven, SH77 Glentunnel to Windwhistle, SH79 Fairlie to Rangitata & SH8 Fairlie to Tekapo.

    4.23pm: Chrishchurch City Council has closed the following roads due to flooding:

    Eastern Terrace, from Malcolm Street to Tennyson Avenue.
    Eglington Street, from Breezes Road to Woolley Street.
    Woolley Street, from Avondale Road to Waratah Street.
    Avondale Road, from New Brighton Rd/Bassett Street to Breezes Road.
    Newport Road from Emlyn Street to Wainoni Road.
    Owles Terrace, from Hardy Street to Collingwood Road.

    It advises the next high tide is due at 8.00pm tonight and is likely to bring some more flooding. There will be another high tide again at 8.30am tomorrow.

    The roads that have been closed today are likely to remain closed until the high tides have passed tomorrow so if you normally travel these routes to get to work or school, please start thinking about making alternate plans, the Council advises. 

    If anyone living close to a river or waterway is feeling at all unsafe, they should self-evacuate.

    4.15pm: Six farmers who became trapped while checking their stock, have been rescued in the Foothills Road area in Okuku, North Canterbury. Police say they were notified at about 2.15pm. 

    All have been safely lifted out by helicopter and are uninjured.

    3.30pm: A number of state highways have been closed. Others are being watched, according to Waka Kotahi, NZ Transport Agency. It's asking people to avoid travelling through South and Mid Canterbury. 

    3.23pm:  Selwyn District Council has declared a Local Civil Defence Emergency as of 2pm today.

    Selwyn Civil Defence controller Douglas Marshall says the emergency declaration will help authorities to better manage the situation across the district.

    “Many areas of the district are continuing to be affected by flooding and disruption of services,” Mr Marshall says.

    “With a declaration in place we will be better placed to manage road closures which are expected across the district throughout today, especially if the state highway network is affected.”

    Mr Marshall says motorists should expect continuing flooding and road closures and restrictions. Areas around the Selwyn River, and between SH1 and Leeston are likely to be disrupted.

    “We really do urge people to stay off the roads. Travel is likely to be disrupted for some time, and we do not want to see travellers becoming trapped. The best thing for people to do is avoid driving for the foreseeable future.”
     

    Residents say the flooding in the South Island town is the worst they’ve seen.

    3.20pm: Power has been restored to many regions in the Christchurch area. There are still about 40 outages in Rolleston, Belfast and Woolston collectively. 

    2.45pm:  Ashburton Mayor and the Acting Minister for Emergency Management have just provided an update on the weather situation.
    Neil Brown and Kris Fafooi said officials are keeping an eye on river levels over whether evacuations are needed. Brown said if stopbanks broke on the north and south side of the river, about 4,000 people would need to be evacuated. 

    Brown, who has lived in the region all his life said he had never seen river levels this high. 

    2.00pm : Geraldine High School in Rural South Canterbury has announced it will close tomorrow due to the weather situation. Other schools may also be affected.

    North Canterbury residents took their wakeboards for a tow following heavy rain and flooding in the area.

    1.37pm: Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) has issued a press release asking those in the region to avoid contact with flood waters with the assumption they will be contaminated by sewage. 

    "If you do come into contact with flood waters, change out of any wet clothes and shoes and put them aside to be washed later. Wash skin that has come into contact with flood waters, and wash your hands as soon as you reasonably can - or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser," the statement read.

    There is also a danger of injury from floating objects and hazards hidden below the surface. If there are power outages in your area, be wary of power lines that might be down and be even more hazardous in wet conditions.

    The warning comes as some residents have taken to floodwaters to frolic despite the dangers.

    A wakeboarder cruising through floodwaters while being towed by a four wheel drive motorbike was filmed in North Canterbury today.

    Drinking water

    Methven and Mt Somers water supplies have precautionary boil water notices in place.

    A boil water notice means you need to boil or treat all water from taps/tankers before drinking, brushing teeth or using in food preparation - bringing water to a rolling boil is sufficient to kill bugs.

    Otherwise all public water supplies have been deemed safe.

    If you cannot boil water, treat it by adding 1 teaspoon of household bleach per 10 litres of water and leave for 30 minutes.

    If you don’t have mains water (water that comes from a spring, river, roof or well) and you think it has been affected by surface run-off, don’t use it for drinking purposes. If it appears clear but you are still unsure, it can be made safe by boiling or adding bleach as above.
    Water tanks that were filled before the heavy rain and have not pumped new water from a ground water supply (spring, stream/river or well) since, can be used as normal.

    If in any doubt about your water supply, boil or treat it before consuming.

    The Canterbury river was seen overflowing at midday today.

    Emergency services, hospital/health centres and appointments

    CDHB says emergency care and ambulance services are operating as normal. Appointments tomorrow are all set to go ahead unless individuals are contacted to stay home. 

    Hospital, ambulances and Urgent Care Clinics (24hr Surgery, Moorhouse Medical Centre and Riccarton Clinic ) are all open. Our rural hospitals are open for visiting and maternity services are operating as usual.

    If you have an appointment either today or tomorrow (or while the weather disruption lasts), please assume it will go ahead unless you are contacted individually to say otherwise. If you cannot make your appointment, please let us know as soon as you can by calling the number on your appointment letter.

    Food

    If you lose power at any stage, avoid opening your fridge and freezers unnecessarily. If frozen food has been defrosted but has been kept chilled, it should be used as soon as possible - as if it had been bought fresh.

    Do not refreeze high risk items such as meat, fish and poultry. If you think these high risk items may have been at room temperature for two or more hours, do not eat them – if in doubt, throw it out.

    General health and wellbeing

    Continue to check on neighbours and vulnerable people near where you live as long as the disruption caused by the weather lasts.
    Check they have supplies, including their medications, and share with them the advice on water and food safety.

     If you need to see a GP and have trouble getting there, phone them for advice. Even if they are closed, your call will be put through to a nurse who can advise you on what to do.

    In an emergency, always ring 111.

    If you require essential prescription medications and your supply is running low, call your normal GP number for advice.

    1.15pm:  President of Federated Farmers for the Canterbury region, David Clark has saved two people trapped in flood waters, driving out in his tractor with life jackets.

    "Fire and Emergency weren't able to get [there] the occupants had been swept off the road so fortunately managed to get out to them with one of our large tractors and broke the windows and get the people out," Clark told RNZ.

    Clark also helped with the rescue of a farmer stuck in his tractor.

    "He went through the floodwaters to try and get the stock that were marooned. He then, within 10 minutes, tried to get back again and the water got into the electrics of the tractor and caused the engine to stop, leaving him marooned in a very swift flow of water requiring a triple-1 call."

    1.12pm: Resients in Sheffield, Waddington and Springfield are being advised by Selwyn District Civil Defence to self-evacutate if they have concerns about flooding. An emergency centre is open in Darfield. 

    It comes as areas in and around the townships have been affected by surface flooding. 

    12.54pm: Fire and Emergency say crews have been involved in two rescues this morning, where people in the Ashburton Forks area were trapped in flood waters, and also assisted in a search for a vehicle which was swept down the Ashley River.

    "We are also responding to calls from the public seeking help with flooding in their homes. At this stage, call volumes have not been unusually high."

    FENZ are urging peole affected to respect all road closure signs and not to attempt to drive through floodwaters.
     

    12.47pm : Police say one person is in a serious condition after an incident in South Canterbury this afternoon.

    Police were called at 10.30am this morning to reports a vehicle was spotted in the Ashley River. A man was found at an address on Barkers Road, which runs parallel to the river – at 11.40am. Police say it appears the man is connected to the vehicle which was spotted in the river.

    12.30pm: Timaru District Council Civil Defence has declared a State of Emergency. The Council says it's to allow "Council and Partner agencies to carry out necessary tasks in the face of surface flooding and rising rivers due to continued heavy rainfall across the district".

    Areas particularly affected are the Geraldine Foothills, Geraldine and Temuka areas, as well as areas to the north of our district.

    Civil Defence has been on high alert since yesterday, with heavy rainfall and "significant flooding" expected to hit the region this weekend.

    Ashburton District Mayor Neil Brown told 1 NEWS the new status would allow the area to prepare for the worst as the rain continues to fall. The State of Emergency will remain in place for a seven day period. 

    Residents of Upper and Lower Selwyn Huts have been asked to evacuate, according to the Selwyn District Council, with rising river levels threatening to cut off access to the settlement.

    Selwyn Civil Defence says river flows are high on the Selwyn River and a flood flow breakout above the huts settlement is likely to occur later today or overnight.

    Residents are being asked to hunker down as weather worsens.

    11:46am: Police issued a statement this morning urging people in the area to stay home. 

    "We are aware a number of people have been leaving their homes to check out the flooding, putting themselves at serious risk," the statement read.

    Police are asking those in affected areas to "hunker down" and wait for the weather to pass.

    "Putting yourself at risk by sightseeing the floodwaters also puts emergency services and rescue crews at risk."

    A person who was trapped due to severe flooding in Walkhams Road in Ashburton has been rescued while search and rescue crews have responded to another incident in the Ashburton Forks area.

    The person was stuck in a river just before 10.00am.

    Civil defence controller Gerard Moore says the main risk for the Selwyn Huts community is that access to the settlement is only through Days Road, which is expected to be cut off due to flooding.

    The Christchurch City Council says flooding has forced the closure of multiple roads in the city already this morning including River Road, from Banks Avenue to Medway Street.

    Other roads impacted include Aynsley Terrace, from Centaurus Road to Opawa Road, Clarendon Terrace, from Sheldon Street to Opawa Road, Richardson Terrace from Opawa Road to Mackenzie Avenue and McCormacks Bay Road. A full list is available on the Christchurch City Council website

    Parts of the city, especially spots near the Heathcote River, have been affected.

    Earlier today

    The Ashburton and Hinds rivers are expected to breach banks, with river flows being recorded in the upper parts of the Ashburton and Hinds catchments some of the highest on record, according to Environment Canterbury. 

    "We are seeing floodwater breaking out from the river. These flows are expected to be higher than the design capacity of the flood protection scheme," Environment Canterbury said on Facebook. 

    Breakouts and road closures are expected in the Thompsons Track and Ashburton Forks Area, and further overflows from the North and South Branches of the Ashburton River are considered highly likely.

    State Highway 73 from Springfield to Castle Hill has also been closed due to a slip and flooding. NZTA is advising those in the area to delay travel between Canterbury and the West Coast, as there is only a long detour available.

    MetService yesterday issued a red alert heavy rain warning for Canterbury, north and south of Amberley. A heavy rain warning has also been issued for Marlborough about and south of Kaikōura.

    The last time the alert was issued by MetService was for Southland in February 2020 which saw a state of emergency put in place, severe flooding and washed out roads.

    Around 80 to 120mm of rain is expected for coastal parts of Canterbury, with that number increasing gradually inland up to 300mm in the Canterbury High County and foothills, according to MetService. 

    The MetService red alert warning came into effect from 3pm yesterday and is set to stay in place until 11am on Monday.

    Around 2000 residents lost power overnight due to the weather in Canterbury, according to Orion. Additional crews have been deployed and just under 750 homes are without power.

    Severe gale southeasterlies are also expected along the west coast of the South Island, south of Hokitika, and also for the Canterbury coast north of Ashburton, including Banks Peninsula.

    MetService has issued a strong wind watch for the rest of Canterbury, and to southern parts of Marlborough.

    More information by region can be found below.

    Christchurch City Council updates.
    Ashburton District Council updates.
    Selwyn District Council updates.
    Timaru District Council updates.
    Canterbury Civil Defence updates.

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