"The rain has been heavier than was forecast and there are pockets of flooding across the district," says Civil Defence and Emergency Management manager Brenden Winder.
"The flooding has been exacerbated because the ground was already so saturated.
"The rain isn’t expected to let up until tomorrow and with high tide due around 3pm this afternoon, it is likely that we will see more flooding yet around tidal areas and the rivers.
"On the whole the stormwater network is holding up well given the volume of rain we have had this month.
"Given the volume of water around the city it is very important that people drive slowly and take extra care travelling around the city. If you can avoid trying through ponded water, please do so. If you can’t avoid it, drive slowly so that you don’t push stormwater onto people’s properties."
Weather warnings are still in place for much of Canterbury, with more flooding expected.
The Avon and Heathcote rivers have breached their banks this morning after torrential rain overnight.
Heavy rain south of the Rakaia River is forecast from 2am today until 4am tomorrow, with 100mm to 130mm expected to accumulate about the foothills, and lesser amounts elsewhere.
Heavy rain is also expected to continue falling in the region north of the river until midnight tonight, however, this was expected to ease during the afternoon and evening.
A number of streets in the south Wigram area were closed this afternoon due to flooding. The streets are in the area bounded by Springs Rd, Corsair Drive, The Runway, and Awatea Rd.
New Brighton Rd, from Kingsford St to Lake Tce, was also closed this afternoon due to flooding.
A slip has also closed Menzies Bay Rd at its intersection with Decanter Bay Rd. A slip has also closed Stoney Bay Rd.
Other roads closed across the city:
Avonside Drive from Woodham Road to Retreat Road
Oxford Terrace from Worcester Street to Gloucester Street
Cambridge Terrace from Cashel Street to Montreal Street
Edgeware Road from Hills Road to Geraldine Street.
Francis Avenue, from Warrington Street to 40 Francis Avenue
Emmett Street, from Briggs Road to Shirley Road
Carrick Street, from Flockton Street to Aylesford Street
Harrison Street, from Thornton Street to Aylesford Street
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is advising travellers in the South Island to check their route before they set off today.
Snow has closed inland passes (Burkes and Lindis, and the road into Aoraki/Mt Cook) in South Canterbury/Otago and flooding has closed SH1 to Blenheim and Picton at Seddon in Marlborough. SH1 is likely to be closed all day at Seddon due to flooding.
It is possible that more highways may be closed due to flooding as the day progresses, says Waka Kotahi Journey Manager Tresca Forrester.
“Please slow down and drive to the conditions if there is surface flooding to avoid making waves. People should expect roads that are open to be slower than usual with damage from last week’s storm creating some slower patches in many places across our network.”
Army on standby
Meanwhile New Zealand Army staff have been put on standby in Dunedin due to heavy rain forecast for the city until tomorrow.
Dunedin and North Otago residents are being urged to watch for rapidly rising streams and rivers, surface flooding and slips after MetService issued a heavy rain warning for those areas today and tomorrow.
Dunedin residents could expect up to 90mm of rain between 7am today and 9am tomorrow, with peak rates of up to 15mm per hour, a MetService spokesman said.
North Otago could expect up to 130mm of rain between 6am today and 8am tomorrow, especially inland, again with peak rates of up to 15mm per hour.
Heavy rain was also forecast for Clutha until 1pm tomorrow.
A MetService spokesman said a front was forecast to move slowly southwards over northern and central New Zealand today, bringing a broad band of rain with some heavy falls, and easterly to northeasterly gales.
An associated low to the west of the upper North Island would also move slowly southwards, then weaken and cross the South Island tomorrow.
Steady rain is falling in Dunedin and there was surface flooding on Portobello Rd this morning.
The Dunedin City Council and Waitaki District Council have activated their Emergency Response Centres in response to the downpour, emergency management Otago group manager Matt Alley said.
"We continue to monitor the rainfall across the region and watch for any impacts that this may have. The ground is really saturated following the last few weeks of wet weather and we may see slips, surface flooding by the end of the day."
A New Zealand Defence Force spokesman said that the the New Zealand Army had a liaison officer currently embedded with Civil Defence Dunedin.
There was also a team of 25 reserve personnel from the 2nd/4th Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment on standby to assist if required, the spokesman said.
A Dunedin City Council spokesman said staff and contractors were actively preparing ahead of the forecasted heavy rain for the area.
"The ground is already very wet following recent rain. Further significant rain could cause flooding and slips and make driving difficult."
He said staff and contractors began checking stormwater and wastewater systems yesterday and road maintenance contractors had been sweeping gutters around the city and doing additional checks of mud tanks in low-lying and high-risk areas.
"We are also asking any residents who notice a blocked mud tank near their home to clear debris on to the footpath, where it will be picked up by contractors when the weather clears.
"We will continue to closely monitor the situation and contractors will be on call to respond to issues as and when they arise."
Also as a result of the forecast, a small section of Portobello Rd near the Marne St intersection would remain closed due to a rockfall until at least Wednesday.
Contractors were on site over the weekend and managed to remove a substantial amount of rock from the cliff, but an even larger amount still needs to be removed.
"As more heavy rain is forecast, the road must remain closed to ensure public safety.
"A detour remains in place via Doon St."
Alpine roads closed
Snow has affected South Island alpine passes, with weather warnings in force, and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advised travellers in the South Island to check their route before they set off today.
Some inland passes from South Canterbury into Otago are closed due to heavy snow.
They are: Burkes Pass (State Highway 8 - Fairlie to Twizel), the Lindis Pass (SH 8 Omarama to Tarras) where up to 10cm of snow is forecast and ploughing under way, and SH 80 Aoraki/Mt Cook to Ben Ohau (intersection with SH 8).
It is possible that more highways may be closed due to flooding as the day progresses, Waka Kotahi's Journey Manager Tresca Forrester said.
“Please slow down and drive to the conditions if there is surface flooding to avoid making waves. People should expect roads that are open to be slower than usual with damage from last week’s storm creating some slower patches in many places across our network.”
The Arthur’s Pass/Porters Pass route on SH 73 between Canterbury and the West Coast opened after 8.30am today after being closed last night due to snow. However, both passes are closed to towing vehicles.
SH 8 Twizel to Omarama, and SH 83 Omarama to Pukeuri are also closed to towing vehicles, but open with extreme caution for other vehicles.
Meanwhile, snow to 300 metres in the Mackenzie Basin is forecast.
The Crown Range, linking Queenstown and Wanaka, is open but between 10cm to 15cm of snow was forecast to accumulate above 800 metres with lesser amounts lower down to 300 metres until 3pm today.
Chains must be used between Eastburn Gates and Chainbay 1, a spokesman for the Queenstown Lakes District Council said this morning.
Flights cancelled
Two flights into Dunedin last night, from Christchurch and Wellington, were cancelled due to fog continuing to blanket the airport.
An early morning flight from Dunedin to Wellington today has been cancelled because the plane was unable to get to the city last night.
- By John Lewis, Oscar Francis and ODT Online
