Southland Flood Warning
Flood warnings have been activated in Southland and caution is advised.
What you need to know:
- Invercargill has already surpassed its average September rainfall (83.6mm), with most of it falling overnight (26mm) of rain overnight – 7.8mm of which fell between 7am and 8am Thursday. The city had already received 100mm of rain this month.
- Rainfall in Western and Northern Southland had well surpassed the agency’s threshold for heavy rain, which is 6mm an hour with Riverton and Mossburn seeing 8 to 9mm between 7am and 8am.
- Environment Southland issued a flood warning for The Aparima River at Dunrobin, the Hamilton Burn at Waterloo Road and The Waiau River at Sunnyside.
- The Southland District Council was asking motorists to drive carefully and slowly amid extensive surface flooding.
- Overhead line damage caused power outages in Koreka Hill, Nightcaps, Wreys Bush, Sinclair Road, Te Anau Downs and Upukaroa.
- Milford Rd would be closed all day Thursday from East Gate (Hollyford) to Donne River (Westgate) because of the risk of an avalanche.
- Further north, Waka Kotahi closed State Highway 6 from Haast to Makarora because of a slip.
- In Eastern Southland, Gore received 28mm of rain overnight with 7.8mm between 7am and 8am.
- Thunderstorms around 3am Thursday morning brought 214 lightning strikes over Northern Southland. The rain had caused the Aparima River to jump 2.05 metres above normal and it was rising 377mm/hour.
- The Hamilton Burn was 1.87 metres above normal and rising 521 mm/hour, while the Waiau River was 3.22 metres above normal and rising 191 mm/hour.
Weather is set to settle down later in the day but for now, its best to exercise caution.
AN UPDATE FROM EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SOUTHLAND FOR FRIDAY, 22ND SEPT IS SHARED IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
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4.7% Second half of November
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43.9% 1st December
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17.7% A week before Christmas
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32.6% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below