Heavy rain floods Dunedin, Waitaki District declares state of emergency

Floodwater forced more than 20 people to self-evacuate in Waitaki District as heavy rain closed State Highway 1, sent crews to deliver sandbags and opened a welfare evacuation centre in Oamaru North. Between 10pm and 4am, about 80.4mm of rain fell, far above the council’s July average of 50mm, and the deluge arrived much harder than forecast.

The Waitaki District Council declared a state of emergency after homes and businesses were affected and emergency services spent the night responding to calls. The welfare evacuation centre opened at the Waitaki Event Centre, 2 Centennial Park, Oamaru North, with pets welcome and small animals allowed. State Highway 1 was closed between Seven Mile Road and State Highway 83, while sandbags and sand were delivered to Eden St carpark.

In Dunedin, flooding hit Mosgiel first and hardest. Roads in the suburb west of the city centre were closed overnight by surface flooding, Three Mile Hill was shut, and small slips were on the Otago Peninsula. In South Dunedin, flood protection barriers went up in Surrey Street while pumps and pipes were used to move water away from streets and homes.

Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker said Mosgiel had received significantly more rain than central Dunedin and described the storm as unpredictable because the rainfall was so localised. Four pumps were working in Mosgiel, the stormwater network was still operating within capacity, and crews were checking damage and hazards while drains and debris could be cleared faster. An overnight evacuation centre also opened in Mosgiel, where a number of residents, including a family of five, used the facility.

Volunteers spent hours filling sandbags at Dunedin Ice Stadium. More than half of South Dunedin’s 6,000 households and 1,000 businesses are considered at risk of flooding, and the area, Aotearoa’s biggest population living below sea level, was swamped in 2015 and again in 2024.