13 Dec 2019

State of emergency lifted in Timaru District after flooding

4:37 pm on 13 December 2019

The Timaru District has officially lifted its state of emergency following the flooding of the Rangitata River last weekend.

Rangitata River remains flood on Sunday 8 December, 2019.

The Timaru District was put into a state of emergency on the weekend after the Rangitata River flooded. Photo: Facebook / Timaru District Council

The floods in South Canterbury closed State Highway 1 and the inland route 72, and also resulted in the evacuation of 115 properties.

Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen ended the state of emergency just before 3pm this afternoon.

He said the council's emergency operations centre will transition from response to recovery mode.

Meanwhile, sandbags will remain in place around Lake Wānaka and Lake Wakatipu until Monday as the lakes' levels slowly recede.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council says the lakes may rise slightly over the weekend, but any increase is unlikely to be significant.

The council is planning clean-ups around the foreshores of Glenorchy, Kingston and Glendhu Bay from next week.

Part of Ardmore Street, Wānaka's main street, remains closed.