South begins massive cleanup after flooding

A Gore secondary school is facing a mammoth cleanup job as residents across the South begin to assess the damage as flood waters receded yesterday.

St Peter’s College in Gore saw some of the worst damage from flood waters, with water coming through doors, walls and being around knee-deep in places which has led to the entire first floor needing to be recarpeted.

St Peter’s College principal Tara Quinney said they did not think the school would end up flooding.

"We didn’t envision that it would continue to rain so much that it would flood the actual school."

The first of the flooding began in the bathrooms next to the school hall which caused the students to be sent home around 10am.

By 1pm the school was dealing with gushing water flowing through hallway doors and seeping through the walls of offices.

"By that point the water was accessing almost every point of the school and we couldn’t stop it quick enough," Ms Quinney said.

Ms Quinney, other members of staff and remaining pupils worked hard to save as many books as possible from the library and anything sitting on the floor.

"The only room that didn’t quite make it was the art room — oh I’m too scared to look. Unfortunately there were some art boards on the ground ready to be sent to NZQA for marking."

The goal now was to have the school in teachable condition by the start of the fourth term on October 9.

High waters from the Mataura River submerged entire roads.

Mataura resident Richard Winn said he was just going to go get groceries and saw water everywhere.

Mr Winn then decided to take the back roads home and had to drive through flood waters where water was lapping at the hood of his car.

Worrying some residents yesterday was the level of the Mataura River, which remained very high throughout the day.

Peak flow was forecast around 8.30pm and was expected to be 3.9m above normal.

Environment Southland said the stopbank at Gore was designed to be able to withstand this level of extra water.

Further south in Tuatapere, residents and businesses were relieved the town’s water treatment plant had been swiftly fixed.

The water treatment plant at Tuatapere had, on Thursday night, been inundated by floodwaters and stopped working, leaving residents to conserve water.

Boundary Creek General Store owner Wendy Mitchell said she did not know what to expect with the state of the weather yesterday morning.

However, the store’s water had come back on by the time she opened.

Waiau Area School was closed yesterday due to road conditions.

Southland District Mayor Rob Scott said it was because of the people working behind the scenes that the water treatment plant was fixed so swiftly.

In Central Otago, roads were submerged in places and in Maniototo and the Manuherikia Valley snow fell in the afternoon.

Water was spilt at both Roxburgh and Clyde dams to avoid overflow.

Wānaka found itself more isolated than usual yesterday, with three of its key arterial routes, the Haast Pass, Wānaka-Mount Aspiring Rd and Cardrona Valley Rd closed due to the wild weather battering the region.

The Haast Pass will be closed all weekend with an update expected on Monday afternoon.

Wānaka-Mount Aspiring Rd was closed from Glendhu Bluffs due to a slip, and from Glenfinnan Bluffs due to deep fords. There was no indication when the road would be reopened.

The stretch of Cardrona Valley Rd from Wānaka to Cardrona Skifield Rd was closed due to multiple slips on Thursday evening.

It reopened in yesterday afternoon.

Roads were also closed in the Clutha District yesterday but most reopened in the afternoon.

Water levels in most rivers across Southland began to drop last night.