January 1, 2013
MEDIA RELEASE
Flood alert as river and lake levels set to rise
Severe weather warnings for the Southern Alps has prompted Environment Canterbury to warn holidaymakers and locals to
keep a close watch on river and lake levels.
Up to 400mm of rainfall is expected along the Alpine Divide today through until Wednesday evening; with the heaviest
fall expected at the Canterbury headwaters from Tuesday afternoon.
This will cause the major alpine rivers of Canterbury to rise quickly to potentially dangerous levels.
People are strongly advised to stay well clear of the beds of these rivers until the weekend. Even with the rain
predicted to fall mostly in the mountains, it is still vitally important that people on the plains also stay alert, even
if the weather is fine, as the rivers can still become unsafe as flood waters travels rapidly downstream.
People should listen to local radio stations for updates, and if they have internet access visit Environment
Canterbury’s website www.ecan.govt.nz for flood warning updates.
Environment Canterbury staff are monitoring river and lake levels and will continue to do so until the threat of
flooding had passed. There will be an update on the situation at 10am Wednesday, 2 January 2013 at the latest.
ENDS
Note to reporter:
Environment Canterbury has two Flood Controllers on duty covering the northern (Kaikoura to Hinds Rivers) and the
southern (Rangitata to Waitaki Rivers) areas of the region.