The Dunedin City Council is encouraging people to rug up at home and avoid unnecessary travel, as the city prepares for forecast heavy rain overnight and tomorrow.
The MetService has issued an Orange rain warning for Dunedin, with forecasts of between 70mm and 90mm of rain between 9pm tonight and 6pm on Saturday.
DCC General Manager Climate and City Growth Scott MacLean says, “We’re continuing to monitor the latest information and make all preparations, but at this stage we’re not expecting any significant flooding.
“It looks like it’ll be a cold and wet 24 hours, so our advice is for everyone to get home, light the fire, stay warm and dry, and avoid travelling unless you need to.
“Our contractors will be on standby throughout the night, ready to respond to any emerging issues, but our network is well placed to cope with what’s forecast.
“Out of an abundance of caution we will be opening a sandbagging station this afternoon, but this is a precautionary measure to reassure anyone feeling anxious or worried.”
The sandbagging station will be at the Dunedin Ice Stadium carpark at 101 Victoria Road, St Kilda, and will be open from 2.30pm. Sand, bags and shovels will be available on site and people can help themselves as needed.
“Our staff will continue to monitor the situation into the evening, and we’ll provide further updates if needed.”