22 September 

Despite the state of emergency being declared this morning, Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Glyn Lewers has reassured visitors that Queenstown and the wider district remains open and ready to delight visitors from around Aotearoa New Zealand and the world.

“Our teams have been working hard over the past 24 hours to ensure Queenstown is cleaned up, and 99% of our businesses are now operating as they normally would,” said Mr Lewers.

“The impacts of last night’s heavy rain, while significant, were very localised and the rest of the town is open and looking forward to welcoming visitors for the school holidays.”

Mayor Lewers acknowledged that some residents and business owners in the district had been impacted by the deluge of rain that recently passed over the Queenstown Lakes, leading to surface flooding, slips, and some debris on roads.

“However, we’re working hard to ensure anyone affected by today’s events is looked after and can get back on their feet as soon as possible.”

“I’d like to personally thank the teams that have been working hard to clean up our town and get it back to its best. There has been a huge amount of mahi over the last 24 hours and this will continue through the night and the weekend to come.”

Mayor Lewers finished by welcoming holidaymakers into a Queenstown now surrounded by fresh snow on the hills, and was sure the impending time off would be great for many spending it in the district.

“Guests to our town can be confident they will have a true Queenstown experience, despite a bit of a bump in the road last night.”

© Scoop Media