The rain in Dunedin finally abated yesterday, but not before creating more problems with landslips around the city.
Further movement in a landslip in the Blanket Bay Rd, Sawyers Bay, area resulted in 11 households being evacuated by police about 4am on Saturday as a precaution.
The residents, from Bells Rd and Blanket Bay Rd, were able to return home that afternoon.
Sergeant Dave Scott, of Dunedin, said emergency services were called after a resident heard land moving and the trees cracking in the same location where a landslip knocked over trees and caused property damage early on Thursday.
He said one woman needed help from the Fire Service to get out because debris blocked her driveway.
Residents who did not have an alternative address to go to were taken to the Port Chalmers fire station.
Blanket Bay Rd resident Alfie Blakey said she, her husband and three children were woken about 4.30am when a policeman knocked on their door.''
He just said he could hear the trees starting to crack ... and so they just wanted to get us out quickly.''
The fact it was dark made it difficult to know what was going on, she said.''
We could hear cracking and because it was completely dark we had no idea what was happening, so we just got out as quickly as we could.''
She and her family stayed at a friend's house nearby.
Dunedin City Council roading maintenance engineer Peter Standring said the decision to evacuate residents was made as a precaution because it was too dark to see the extent of the damage.
It appeared the weight of the slip forced the shoulder of the road to give way, with material falling into the gully below, about 100m from the nearest house.''
In the middle of the night it would have sounded pretty horrendous, but it's not as large as the one that was up above; it's just the shoulder of the road.''
After assessing the area, staff and contractors believed it was isolated slumping and that the area was safe for residents.
No dramatic failure was anticipated, but if residents in the area had concerns about the stability of their properties, they should contact their insurance companies and EQC in the first instance, he said.
Saturday's rain also caused some ''fretting away'' of the face of the original scarp in Upper Junction Rd. Blanket Bay Rd remained closed until further clearance took place.
In other areas around Dunedin, there were still problems on the Otago Peninsula with slips and fallen trees and staff and contractors were keeping a close eye on the headland after a week of slips.
At Aramoana, the Fire Service was called in on Saturday and yesterday to assist residents in Paloona St, where surface flooding and high tides combined to create localised flooding in the yards of most of the street's properties.
Snow was still an issue in Strath Taieri, although State Highway 87 between Outram and Kyeburn was open last night. Chains must be carried.
There were still properties cut off by snow and contractors were working with those from adjoining networks, such as the Waitaki District, to ensure roads were cleared as quickly as possible.
Work was hampered by limited daylight hours.
Twenty-eight roads in the greater Dunedin area remained officially closed last night - 16 due to flooding, seven due to slips and the rest due to snow.
All state highways were open last night, but chains were to be carried on the Pigroot.
All weather warnings for Otago were lifted over the weekend.
The MetService is forecasting icy nights and increasing fine spells in Otago, with the occasional rain shower up to Thursday, when snow showers down to 300m are expected.
