working in town today again, and kept an eye on the avon river.. was right up there level with the grass, about to overflow!!
prob is flooding now due to the tide coming in now.. has been raining all day with occasional drizzle in the central city.
We have had 41.9mm of rain during the last 24 hours. Driving home from town there were numerous significant slips on Portobello road and lots of surface flooding. Worst ive seen for a good number of years.
Spent today witnessing the conditions that has led to significant surface flooding here in the Amberley area. I emptied the rain gauge yesterday morning and by 3pm today, it was reading 150mm. This is 50mm more than a location on the west side of the main road but that gauge is situated low down and surrounded by buildings and trees. Whereas ours is on top of a fence with no building or tree shadows.
The flooding affected the main road of Amberley this morning but by the afternoon had almost gone. The low lying areas are still well under water, being fed by the numerous streams and waterways coming off the low-lying hills. High tide at Amberley Beach was a boiling cauldron of brown frothy salt water with huge trees being cast up on the beach. The Waipara River mouth looked like a hydro dam spillway in full swing. Winds have been tolerable but have increased since the sun went down. This could be bad for the many trees growing in soil-turned porridge. It is not over yet. Although exciting in its ferocity, this system has meant much disruption, heartache and worry for so many.
Busy day today I was over in Cobden last night and this morning for the cleanup. Winds were strong. So strong at some times I could hardly stand up. A hard hat was an essential fashion item yesterday when all that debri was flying around.
I was quite impressed by the strength. I seemed to be funelling into particular areas of Cobden. Another odd thing that happened was that across the river in Greymouth the wind was noticeably less in strength. Must have been topographical.
I was also flying over north Canterbury over Amberley Beach and Kaiapoi this afternoon. The fire brigade was voluntarily evacuation the people at the Amberley beach settlement. The water was certainly banked up around the mouths of the rivers. I am curious to see what the high tide at 03:00 this morning will bring. Still raining reasonably consistently at home here in Westmorland at present. Unfortunately my wireless rain gauge appears to have gone flat
Heavy rain here in the last hour and i just drove past the heathcote and outside princess margeret hospital it has started flowing onto the grass. Very close to bursting!!
Reporting Live from Southern Christchurch
Leighton Thomas
Sure is abit of a concern no heavy rain here yet but that wont matter as i am sure it is coming down heavy in the foothills again.
Next high tide is 3am .
Sure is frustrating without those rain radars from MS.
Cheers
Jason.
I think it would be safe to say most the heavy rain is over, 55.1mm recorded in Timaru and between about 60-70mm in Temuka still raining steadily hasn't stopped at all since 5am when it started yet. the 9:36pm radar still shows a little bit of possibly moderate-heavy rain headed for Timaru and light-moderate for chch by the looks of where it appears to be going.
For those who missed it on the news tonight here is the pine tree that fell on a Nelson Intersection narrowly missing the car.
Good old kiwi humor after it cheering it on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtCzlZogjZQ
Cheers
Jason.
Jasestrm wrote:For those who missed it on the news tonight here is the pine tree that fell on a Nelson Intersection narrowly missing the car.
Good old kiwi humor after it cheering it on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtCzlZogjZQ
Cheers
Jason.
At least its over in many areas in the south with no furthur damage fortunately(off Newstalk ZB news)Looks a standard pattern normally for August now in all areas.
Went for a drive last night just after high tide, heathcote had closed a few roads, nothing to serious though. The surf at the beach was the worst ive seen it eating away at the dunes at high tide. Alot of driftwood and weed spread about.