NZ Historic Weather Events Catalogue
March 1994 Canterbury and Otago Flooding
(
1994-03-19
)
8 years
Heavy rain resulted in flooding in Otago and south Canterbury.
New Zealand
Multi Hazard
at
New Zealand
On the 19th a depression will move across central New Zealand with a squally westerly flow over northern districts and damp cool southeasterlies over the South Island. As the depression moves away to the southeast on the 20th it is expected to deepen with a cold, disturbed southwesterly flow likely to develop over the country.
Canterbury
Heavy Rain
at
Canterbury
The heavy rain came from a depression that lay over the South Island with a centre east of Christchurch. It remained for about two days, pushing a moist south-easterly flow into the lower half of the island.
Flooding
There were three Civil Defence Declarations from the 19th to the 21st in the Waimate, Timaru and MacKenzie districts.
There were 240 people evacuated over three districts.
The cost of the flooding estimated at more than $5,500,000 ($7,941,000 2009 dollars). About $200,000 ($288,800 2009 dollars) of this is in insurance claims made by more than 60 owners of property adjoining the Opihi River in Temuka and Pleasant Point, where homes were flooded.
State Highway damage was $3,000,000 ($4,331,000 2009 dollars).
Opihi, Waihao and Ashburton River control systems were extensively damaged.
Roads, bridges, homes and businesses were destroyed by the flooding.
Flooding
at
South Canterbury
It was the worst flooding since March 1986.
The worst hit areas were the Milford Huts near Temuka, and Fairlie.
Bridge approaches were washed away, roads were closed and people were asked to stay indoors.
The flood lasted from the 19th to the 21st.
The road between Fairlie and Geraldine was closed.
The road damage bill in the district was estimated at $500,000 ($722,000 2009 dollars).
Farms north of Fairlie in the Sherwood Downs, Ashwick and Allandale areas were cut off. Roads, power and telephone lines were cut.
In the Waimate district, the Waihao River burst its banks in atleast five places.
Five families at Morven, on the south bank of the Waihao River north of Oamaru, were evacuated.
State Highway 1 was closed on the 19th at Pareora Bridge and Otaio.
Some houses and farms were flooded in the Hakataramea Valley.
State Highway 82 was closed on the 19th between Kurow and Waimate after slips and flooding.
Flooding
at
Waimate District
The cost of repairs to State highways in the Waimate district was estimated at $75,000 ($108,300 2009 dollars).
Flooding
at
Timaru District
Insurance industry payouts for the distict were $1,500,000 ($2,166,000 2009 dollars).
More than 60 houses were flooded in the Timaru district with insurance claims averaging $3000 ($4331 2009 dollars) a property.
In the Timaru district, repairs to roads, bridges, water supplies and culverts cost up to $870,000 ($1,256,000 2009 dollars).
Flooding
at
MacKenzie District
Transit New Zealand estimated that there was $400,000 ($577,500 2009 dollars) worth of damage to State Highways in the district.
Flooding
Repairs to roads and bridges in the district, other than State highways, cost $1,066,000 ($1,539,000 2009 dollars).
Flooding
at
Opihi River
Rivers in Canterbury peaked late in the afternoon of the 19th with the Opihi River running at an estimated 3300 cumecs at the mouth.
The river overtopped its stop banks and flooded farmland, a golf course in Temuka and cut access to Milford Huts.
Burkes Pass was closed where the Opihi River scoured away 100m section of State Highway 8. Downstream of this, half of the bridge to Mount Dobson was gone.
More than 100 people from the Opihi River hut settlements of Stratheona, Butlers, Waipopo and Milford Lagoon north of Timaru were also evacuated when the river threatened to break its stop banks.
Heavy Rain
at
Timaru Airport
Timaru Airport recorded 7.7cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Kimbell
Kimbell recorded 17.6cm of rain.
Heavy Rain
at
Fairlie
In 24 hours to 9am on the 19th, Fairlie recorded 13.9cm of rain, while the average rainfall for the month of March is 6.2cm.
Fairlie recorded 17.9cm of rain over three days from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th (a deluge expected only once in more than 50 years).
The heavy rain was caused by a slow-moving southerly flow.
Flooding
Floodwaters washed away the $2.5 million Alpine Timber Ltd sawmill when the Opihi River burst its northern bank at Fairlie. Timbers, bulldozers, a truck and a building were swept downstream.
Fairlie was cut off by road from the rest of the South Island from 7am on the 19th until noon on the 20th when State Highway 8 between Fairlie and Pleasant Point was reopened. But the town remained largely untouched by the flood water.
The swollen Opihi River washed out the approaches to a bridge next to the saw mill.
Sixty campers at the Raincliff Anglican Youth Camp and adjacent Scout camp, south-east of Fairlie were evacuated.
Heavy Rain
at
Temuka
Thirty residents of Bramwell Booth Home in Temuka were evacuated as a precaution.
Heavy Rain
at
Woodbury
Woodbury recorded 11.2cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Ashburton
Ashburton recorded 9.4cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Damage in mid-Canterbury from the rain and floods cost the Ashburton District Council about $20,000 ($28,900 2009 dollars) to repair.
Ashburton got off lightly compared to other towns further south.
Approaches to the Hackthorne, Winslow, and Boundary Road bridges were washed away, along with abutment protection on Betsy's Bridge on Anama Settlement Road. The edge of State Highway 72 near Stavely was scoured by Bowyers Stream.
Heavy Rain
at
Mount Somers
Mount Somers recorded 9.0cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Akaroa
Akaroa recorded 6.3cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Christchurch
Christchurch Airport recorded 5.5cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Landslide
at
Rakaia Gorge
A car was buried up to its windows by a shingle fall as it tried to get across Whiskey Creek. The three men within it were uninjured.
Otago
Flooding
at
Middlemarch
Middlemarch was flooded for the fourth time in three months.
Six properties in town were badly affected by the floodwaters, including the Strath Taieri Hotel and Reid Farmers store.
The motor camp had 40cm of water running through it.
Water reached up to 45cm deep in Snow Ave.
Heavy Rain
at
Taieri Plain
Approximately 15.0cm of rain fell on Taieri Plain during the 18th and the 19th.
Flooding
Worst affected areas include properties along the West Taieri contour channel and the East Taieri lower ponding area.
150 West Taieri farms were affected by surface flooding.
There were no stock losses reported.
Most paddocks were approximately 15.0cm underwater.
West Taieri contour channel and the Waipori River at Berwick overspilled their banks on the 19th.
Flooding
at
Outram
Taieri River at Outram peaked at 109.5m.
Taieri River flow at Outram was approximately 520 cumecs.
Flooding
at
Silver Stream
A Dunedin man was killed wen he was swept away while trying to ford Silver Stream at Whare Flat.
Heavy Rain
at
Mosgiel
Mosgiel recorded 13.9cm of rain in 27 hours.
Heavy Rain
at
Dunedin
Dunedin recorded 11.4cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
10.9cm of rain fell along the Dunedin coast.
70 elderly residents of Fulton Home in south Dunedin were evacuated to Wakari Hospital when water flooded them out.
Heavy Rain
at
Dunedin Airport
Dunedin airport recorded 12.3cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Invermay
Invermay recorded 15.8cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Oamaru
Oamaru recorded 11.2cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Saint Bathans
Saint Bathans recorded 9.3cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
References
- Headline: Civil Defence declaration since 1 January 1963.
- Declared Civil Defence Emergencies,
- Insurance Councils, The Cost of Weather Loses, Claims History (Updated 2004)
- Major weather events in New Zealand, FLOODS AND HIGH RAINFALL, Floods to 31st July 2006
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Newsletter 57, June 1994
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Newsletter 57, June 1994
- Headline: Taieri farmers wait for water to recede.
- Otago Daily Times, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Townsfolk in Middlemarch have had enough.
- Otago Daily Times, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Floods bring death, despair.
- Sunday Star Times, 20 March 1994.
- Headline: Weather.
- The Press, 19 March 1994.
- Headline: Flood wipes out $2.5m business.
- The Press, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Floods devastate Sth Canterbury.
- The Press, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Students forced into shed.
- The Press, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Trailbike rider swept away in flooded ford.
- The Press, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Ashburton gets off lightly.
- The Press, 22 March 1994.
- Headline: Highs, lows in flood destruction.
- The Press, 22 March 1994.
- Headline: Relief fund set up for Timaru flood victims.
- The Press, 22 March 1994.
- Headline: S Canterbury flooding bill estimated at $5.5m.
- The Press, 23 March 1994.
- Headline: Mackenzie flood damage repair bill exceeds $1.4m.
- The Press, 6 April 1994.
March 1994 Canterbury and Otago Flooding
(
1994-03-19
)
8 years
Heavy rain resulted in flooding in Otago and south Canterbury.
New Zealand
Multi Hazard
at
New Zealand
On the 19th a depression will move across central New Zealand with a squally westerly flow over northern districts and damp cool southeasterlies over the South Island. As the depression moves away to the southeast on the 20th it is expected to deepen with a cold, disturbed southwesterly flow likely to develop over the country.
Canterbury
Heavy Rain
at
Canterbury
The heavy rain came from a depression that lay over the South Island with a centre east of Christchurch. It remained for about two days, pushing a moist south-easterly flow into the lower half of the island.
Flooding
There were three Civil Defence Declarations from the 19th to the 21st in the Waimate, Timaru and MacKenzie districts.
There were 240 people evacuated over three districts.
The cost of the flooding estimated at more than $5,500,000 ($7,941,000 2009 dollars). About $200,000 ($288,800 2009 dollars) of this is in insurance claims made by more than 60 owners of property adjoining the Opihi River in Temuka and Pleasant Point, where homes were flooded.
State Highway damage was $3,000,000 ($4,331,000 2009 dollars).
Opihi, Waihao and Ashburton River control systems were extensively damaged.
Roads, bridges, homes and businesses were destroyed by the flooding.
Flooding
at
South Canterbury
It was the worst flooding since March 1986.
The worst hit areas were the Milford Huts near Temuka, and Fairlie.
Bridge approaches were washed away, roads were closed and people were asked to stay indoors.
The flood lasted from the 19th to the 21st.
The road between Fairlie and Geraldine was closed.
The road damage bill in the district was estimated at $500,000 ($722,000 2009 dollars).
Farms north of Fairlie in the Sherwood Downs, Ashwick and Allandale areas were cut off. Roads, power and telephone lines were cut.
In the Waimate district, the Waihao River burst its banks in atleast five places.
Five families at Morven, on the south bank of the Waihao River north of Oamaru, were evacuated.
State Highway 1 was closed on the 19th at Pareora Bridge and Otaio.
Some houses and farms were flooded in the Hakataramea Valley.
State Highway 82 was closed on the 19th between Kurow and Waimate after slips and flooding.
Flooding
at
Waimate District
The cost of repairs to State highways in the Waimate district was estimated at $75,000 ($108,300 2009 dollars).
Flooding
at
Timaru District
Insurance industry payouts for the distict were $1,500,000 ($2,166,000 2009 dollars).
More than 60 houses were flooded in the Timaru district with insurance claims averaging $3000 ($4331 2009 dollars) a property.
In the Timaru district, repairs to roads, bridges, water supplies and culverts cost up to $870,000 ($1,256,000 2009 dollars).
Flooding
at
MacKenzie District
Transit New Zealand estimated that there was $400,000 ($577,500 2009 dollars) worth of damage to State Highways in the district.
Flooding
Repairs to roads and bridges in the district, other than State highways, cost $1,066,000 ($1,539,000 2009 dollars).
Flooding
at
Opihi River
Rivers in Canterbury peaked late in the afternoon of the 19th with the Opihi River running at an estimated 3300 cumecs at the mouth.
The river overtopped its stop banks and flooded farmland, a golf course in Temuka and cut access to Milford Huts.
Burkes Pass was closed where the Opihi River scoured away 100m section of State Highway 8. Downstream of this, half of the bridge to Mount Dobson was gone.
More than 100 people from the Opihi River hut settlements of Stratheona, Butlers, Waipopo and Milford Lagoon north of Timaru were also evacuated when the river threatened to break its stop banks.
Heavy Rain
at
Timaru Airport
Timaru Airport recorded 7.7cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Kimbell
Kimbell recorded 17.6cm of rain.
Heavy Rain
at
Fairlie
In 24 hours to 9am on the 19th, Fairlie recorded 13.9cm of rain, while the average rainfall for the month of March is 6.2cm.
Fairlie recorded 17.9cm of rain over three days from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th (a deluge expected only once in more than 50 years).
The heavy rain was caused by a slow-moving southerly flow.
Flooding
Floodwaters washed away the $2.5 million Alpine Timber Ltd sawmill when the Opihi River burst its northern bank at Fairlie. Timbers, bulldozers, a truck and a building were swept downstream.
Fairlie was cut off by road from the rest of the South Island from 7am on the 19th until noon on the 20th when State Highway 8 between Fairlie and Pleasant Point was reopened. But the town remained largely untouched by the flood water.
The swollen Opihi River washed out the approaches to a bridge next to the saw mill.
Sixty campers at the Raincliff Anglican Youth Camp and adjacent Scout camp, south-east of Fairlie were evacuated.
Heavy Rain
at
Temuka
Thirty residents of Bramwell Booth Home in Temuka were evacuated as a precaution.
Heavy Rain
at
Woodbury
Woodbury recorded 11.2cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Ashburton
Ashburton recorded 9.4cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Damage in mid-Canterbury from the rain and floods cost the Ashburton District Council about $20,000 ($28,900 2009 dollars) to repair.
Ashburton got off lightly compared to other towns further south.
Approaches to the Hackthorne, Winslow, and Boundary Road bridges were washed away, along with abutment protection on Betsy's Bridge on Anama Settlement Road. The edge of State Highway 72 near Stavely was scoured by Bowyers Stream.
Heavy Rain
at
Mount Somers
Mount Somers recorded 9.0cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Akaroa
Akaroa recorded 6.3cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Christchurch
Christchurch Airport recorded 5.5cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Landslide
at
Rakaia Gorge
A car was buried up to its windows by a shingle fall as it tried to get across Whiskey Creek. The three men within it were uninjured.
Otago
Flooding
at
Middlemarch
Middlemarch was flooded for the fourth time in three months.
Six properties in town were badly affected by the floodwaters, including the Strath Taieri Hotel and Reid Farmers store.
The motor camp had 40cm of water running through it.
Water reached up to 45cm deep in Snow Ave.
Heavy Rain
at
Taieri Plain
Approximately 15.0cm of rain fell on Taieri Plain during the 18th and the 19th.
Flooding
Worst affected areas include properties along the West Taieri contour channel and the East Taieri lower ponding area.
150 West Taieri farms were affected by surface flooding.
There were no stock losses reported.
Most paddocks were approximately 15.0cm underwater.
West Taieri contour channel and the Waipori River at Berwick overspilled their banks on the 19th.
Flooding
at
Outram
Taieri River at Outram peaked at 109.5m.
Taieri River flow at Outram was approximately 520 cumecs.
Flooding
at
Silver Stream
A Dunedin man was killed wen he was swept away while trying to ford Silver Stream at Whare Flat.
Heavy Rain
at
Mosgiel
Mosgiel recorded 13.9cm of rain in 27 hours.
Heavy Rain
at
Dunedin
Dunedin recorded 11.4cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
10.9cm of rain fell along the Dunedin coast.
70 elderly residents of Fulton Home in south Dunedin were evacuated to Wakari Hospital when water flooded them out.
Heavy Rain
at
Dunedin Airport
Dunedin airport recorded 12.3cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Invermay
Invermay recorded 15.8cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Oamaru
Oamaru recorded 11.2cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
Heavy Rain
at
Saint Bathans
Saint Bathans recorded 9.3cm of rainfall from 9am on the 17th to 9am on the 20th.
References
- Headline: Civil Defence declaration since 1 January 1963.
- Declared Civil Defence Emergencies,
- Insurance Councils, The Cost of Weather Loses, Claims History (Updated 2004)
- Major weather events in New Zealand, FLOODS AND HIGH RAINFALL, Floods to 31st July 2006
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Newsletter 57, June 1994
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Newsletter 57, June 1994
- Headline: Taieri farmers wait for water to recede.
- Otago Daily Times, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Townsfolk in Middlemarch have had enough.
- Otago Daily Times, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Floods bring death, despair.
- Sunday Star Times, 20 March 1994.
- Headline: Weather.
- The Press, 19 March 1994.
- Headline: Flood wipes out $2.5m business.
- The Press, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Floods devastate Sth Canterbury.
- The Press, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Students forced into shed.
- The Press, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Trailbike rider swept away in flooded ford.
- The Press, 21 March 1994.
- Headline: Ashburton gets off lightly.
- The Press, 22 March 1994.
- Headline: Highs, lows in flood destruction.
- The Press, 22 March 1994.
- Headline: Relief fund set up for Timaru flood victims.
- The Press, 22 March 1994.
- Headline: S Canterbury flooding bill estimated at $5.5m.
- The Press, 23 March 1994.
- Headline: Mackenzie flood damage repair bill exceeds $1.4m.
- The Press, 6 April 1994.