The end of last week saw very heavy rain in Dunedin and South Otago which caused flooding in many parts of the city and region. As a result, on Friday a state of emergency was declared for Dunedin and for Clutha District, which is south of Dunedin. The state of emergency was lifted today, in Clutha from 12noon and in Dunedin from 4pm.
Dunedin had just over 146mm of rain from Thursday to Friday, which is about the usual amount the city receives in two months. Many roads around the city and region were flooded and were closed to traffic. People were advised to stay home and off the roads if possible. However, some houses were flooded, so people had to evacuate and stay in welfare centres which were set up in some community centres and the Forsyth Barr Stadium. Because of the heavy rain and risk of contamination in floodwater, some areas were told to boil water before using it and to conserve water.
Buildings are now being inspected, and so far, nine homes in Dunedin have been red-stickered, which means they are unsafe to live in. This is mostly because the rain has caused landslides or slips. Roads are now being cleared of mud and are reopening, but people are still asked to be careful while driving. Some areas still have to boil water.
In New Zealand, MetService provides weather forecasts. In 2019 MetService introduced a colour-coded warning system for severe weather. Red Warnings are the most severe and mean that people need to take immediate action. On Thursday morning, MetService issued a Red Warning for heavy rain for Dunedin, Clutha and Eastern Otago. It was the 15th Red Warning since 2019. For example, Red Rain Warnings were issued for floods in Canterbury in May 2021, where there was record or near-record high rainfalls in one day for May, and in Gisborne and Wairoa in March 2022, when Gisborne received about three months’ worth of rain in just 24 hours. In 2023 there were two Red Rain Warnings. The first was in January in Auckland, where 280mm of rain fell in under 24 hours on 27 January, and four people died. The second was in February for much of the North Island, when Cyclone Gabrielle hit. On Monday 13 February, 160.2mm of rain fell in Whangārei and 151.8mm fell in Gisborne. Eleven people died in Cyclone Gabrielle.
You can check MetService’s weather forecasts at www.metservice.com or download their app. If there is a weather or other emergency, you can listen to RNZ, which is NZ’s official Civil Defence lifeline radio broadcaster.
Vocabulary
evacuate – to leave a place because it is dangerous
contamination – when water or other substances are dirty and unsafe for people
conserve – to use as little of something as possible
red-stickered – if a building is red-stickered, officials put a red sticker on it with information saying that it is unsafe to enter
landslide/ slip – when earth or rocks fall down a hill
forecast – a description of what is likely to happen in the future, for example, the weather
issue – to officially make a statement or give a warning
Civil Defence – New Zealand’s system of emergency management
broadcaster – a TV or radio company