With heavy rain forecast to fall in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula over the next 24 hours, motorists are being warned to expect some surface flooding on the roads.
The most extensive rain is expected to fall between midnight tonight and 9am Friday.
While Christchurch’s land drainage network should cope with the amount of rain forecast, and no extreme tides due, the rainfall is likely to cause some minor surface flooding on the roads, particularly in the lower-lying areas of the city.
“Please take extra care if you are on the roads. If you do encounter some surface flooding, try and take an alternate route. If you have to drive through, make sure you can do it safely and reduce your speed so that you don’t push the water onto neighbouring properties,’’ says Council City Services General Manager David Adamson.
“We are closely monitoring the weather and we have contractors on standby to put out flooding signs and to close roads if required.’’
The wintry blast is also affecting other parts of the South Island. People heading out of Christchurch for the weekend should check Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s website for information about the driving conditions on the state highways.