Gore and Matuara residents living in low level areas have been told to evacuate.
This after hundreds of people in the Southland towns have had an anxious night after being told to prepare to leave at short notice. Days of rain have caused the river to rage and large swathes of farmland are under water, with many roads impassable.
The river was running at 4.5 metres above normal levels at Gore and 6.5 metres above normal just south of Mataura at 5:30 this morning.
Reporter Tim Brown speaks to Corin Dann.
