A submerged fence appears to have been all that saved Roda Davidson from being swept away by the Kakanui River yesterday.
Mrs Davidson (61) spent two hours huddled on the roof of her car in the river before being rescued with the help of a 14-tonne digger.
The Fuchsia Creek woman was trying to get to work at the Oamaru KFC when she was caught in floodwater about 11am after the river burst its banks at the Five Forks bridge.
She misjudged the depth and speed of the water crossing the road north of the bridge. Her car was then dragged downstream by the swollen river before being caught in a fence.
A passer-by noticed her predicament and police, firemen, local farmers with a four-wheel-drive tractor, the digger and a helicopter came to the rescue, the first arriving at 11.51am.
First, the tractor tried to get to Mrs Davidson but the river was too swift. Meanwhile, the fence started moving.
Next, farmer Robert Borst tested the waters in his digger, before picking up Oamaru police Sergeant Peter Muldrew.
They carefully avoided power lines above the car which, although shut down, could not be guaranteed to be safe.
Mr Borst said the digger reached almost its maximum safe depth and he managed to get the bucket out to the car with the boom almost fully extended.
Sgt Muldrew said Mrs Davidson attempted to stand on the roof, but he told her to crawl over.
After sitting in heavy rain and a strong, cold wind for about two hours, she had difficulty getting into the bucket.
''I told her to lean over as far as possible and then I helped her to roll in,'' he said.
Just as she got in the bucket, the helicopter arrived as back-up, but was not needed.
Mrs Davidson was helped to a St John ambulance, where she was treated for hypothermia.
She was then taken to Oamaru Hospital where she was treated and discharged.
Her husband Brian did not hear about her dramatic rescue for about four hours - until she was recovering in hospital.
He was cut off by floodwaters and could not get to Oamaru to bring her home, so she was staying with friends.
''She's been through that way before when it has been flooding, but I guess the road may have been swept away or the water was too fast this time,'' he said.
Two young people and a dog spent last night at a nearby farmhouse after their car became stranded on a flooded section of Raupo Creek Rd, beside the Kakanui River, after 7pm.
Last night's incident was only about 1km from where Mrs Davidson had been rescued.
