Oamaru man Connor McLellan was driving to his home on a farm about 11.30pm when he encountered a flooded portion of Cormacks-Kia Ora Rd outside Weston.
He was trapped in the car.
Eventually, he was able to open his door and water rushed in, he said.
"The car flooded with water and it was so cold and smelly."
He escaped and called a flatmate for help, but he had to walk down the flooded road for about 20 minutes before he could reach his friend and go home.
Mr McLellan said there no signs warning motorists of what lay ahead.
Yesterday, Mr McLellan said he and his flatmates were isolated by floodwaters but he expected the level to drop soon so he and the others could get out of their isolated farm.
His car has since been towed out and he believed it was too early to say if it was a write-off, but the car’s interior was wrecked by the water. He was not injured, although he admitted he was stressed by his encounter with the flood.
MetService duty meteorologist Erick Brenstrum said the rain gauge at Oamaru Airport recorded 42.2mm of rain over 24 hours from 3pm on Wednesday. He said Oamaru experienced its biggest fall between 4pm and 6pm on Wednesday when it received 24.4mm of rain.
The New Zealand Transport Agency’s roads website last night listed State Highway 83, 5km east of Duntroon, with flooding over both lanes.
Sergeant Tony Woodbridge, of Oamaru, said there were no reported crashes due to weather conditions on Wednesday and yesterday. He said people drove to the conditions and if they came across anything on the roads that could have become serious they told police.
"We are grateful to the public. We’ve got a pretty resilient community. The ground is saturated, though."
The Oamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade attended several call-outs on Wednesday night during and after the downpour to pump out water from flooded commercial and residential properties. Senior Station Officer Peter Mason said blocked drains put a lot of stress on local infrastructure.
The Waitaki District Council issued conserve water notices for people on the Hampden-Moeraki and Herbert-Waianakarua water supplies. According to its website, the council decided to turn off both water supplies due to the height and low quality of water flowing through Big Kuri Creek and Waianakarua River, the water sources which feed the systems.
Those on the Hampden-Moeraki supply were expected to have water on again on Sunday but those on the Herbert-Waianakarua supply could have to wait until Monday.
Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher agreed with Mr Brenstrum the weather event was unusual.
"This has been an extreme weather event, which we are just not used to in North Otago. The volume of water, especially when a lot of it is contained in a relatively brief deluge, can overwhelm our infrastructure.
"Having said that, I had a drive around [Wednesday] night during the heaviest falls and all was working as well as could be expected."
Mr Kircher said council staff were pleased with the way the network performed and debris caught up in the system was being cleared by roading contractor SouthRoads yesterday morning.
"I believe our team has responded to the rain very well and all is in hand at the moment. We are looking forward to some sun in the coming days."
