State of emergency lifted

People were wading through water to get to their cars in Balclutha during Thursday’s flooding....
People were wading through water to get to their cars in Balclutha during Thursday’s flooding. PHOTOS: EVELYN THORN
A state of emergency in the Clutha District may be lifted, but South Otago is not out of the woods yet when it comes to returning to normality, officials say.

Clutha District emergency management controller Stan Leishman said Sunday’s sun was "wonderful to see".

State Highway 1 between Balclutha and Dunedin reopened on Sunday.

Parts of Clutha were no longer isolated. Most roads had reopened or detours were provided.

Based on this, there was no need to continue with the state of emergency.

It was a big weekend and a lot of areas were impacted, he said.

There were some isolated communities, including farmers and businesses, that were significantly affected and the district council would work to support them through the recovery phase.

He expressed his thanks to community volunteers, staff and other organisations throughout the district who worked together day and night to help out in the emergency.

The emergency operations centre would remain open in a reduced capacity to continue recovery support.

Silver Fern Farms Finegand plant in Balclutha called off inductions for the beginning of the new...
Silver Fern Farms Finegand plant in Balclutha called off inductions for the beginning of the new season since their carpark was under water.
In Balclutha, several business on Frances St were significantly affected, and would need help getting back to normal.

"It was an unprecedented time, but the community showed patience and for the most part, people stayed inside and waited out the rain," Mr Leishman said.

Clutha district mayor Bryan Cadogan said he thought the district, overall, was lucky to have missed the brunt of the weather.

"We definitely got our share, but when you look at the inundation levels, we weren’t getting what our neighbours in Dunedin were getting."

This was the first time he had seen the weather coming in from the east.

"We always get it from the west.

"We usually get the lakes filling up and the rivers filling up, and we tend to have a lot of time normally to prepare.

"It was totally different this time, it was like turning the map upside down to work out what was going to happen.

"It brought about its own challenges, but overall I think that Clutha, while we had our moments, missed the brunt and should be thankful."

More than 60 roads were closed in the Clutha area during the flooding.

Thirteen remained closed late yesterday.

Wastewater treatment plants were overflowing on Saturday due to the flooding and teams were monitoring them.

Stirling and Tapanui had boil water notices in place and consumers on the Glenkenich Rural Water Scheme including the Waikaka township had been advised there could be disruption to their water supply.

"So many of our plants are near rivers so consequently, as fast as the water came up, the treatment plants were inundated, but then the water started going down, so they became less of an issue," Mr Cadogan said.

Emergency Management Otago group controller Matt Alley acknowledged the huge amount of work ahead for many households, farmers and businesses.

People’s welfare and wellbeing were now paramount in communities across the region as the damage became apparent, he said.

He said people should not just "soldier on" but talk with friends, families or colleagues, or contact the agencies who specialised in offering help.

"Be it rural or urban, we don’t want people feeling they’re on their own."

He emphasised anxiety is a normal response to a stressful situation and talking about it could be useful.

Agencies were continuing to meet regularly to ensure the right support was provided for those impacted by flooding.

"There is a strong rural network that has good connections with farmers and rural communities," he said.

Toko Mouth was no longer isolated after access via Wangaloa Rd was restored, a Clutha District Council spokeswoman said.