People are advised to keep high and dry, as torrential rain is set to batter the South over the next few days.
MetService posted an orange heavy rain warning on its website last night. It signalled that people should expect 80mm-110mm of rain about the ranges, and 50mm-80mm nearer the coast from noon today to noon tomorrow.
There were peak rates of between 5mm and 10mm per hour expected, with 15mm per hour possible in the ranges.
"Further rain is possible for Clutha and Dunedin during tomorrow afternoon and evening, with a low chance of upgrading to a red warning."
Emergency Management Otago stakeholder engagement adviser Erica Andrews said it was monitoring the situation.
"Streams and rivers may rise rapidly, while there’s likely to be surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions."
Niwa forecaster Seth Carrier said the heavy rain would affect much of the country today.
MetService forecaster Mickey Malivuk said with grounds already saturated, the situation was "interesting".
"We’ve got a band of rain moving slowly eastwards, but it’s likely to hang around in the eastern areas of Otago and the South longer than usual. It’s going to be quite a lot of rain for that region."
