KEY POINTS:
The threat of Lake Wakatipu flooding Queenstown seems to be passing, even after a rain and snow storm pushed the lake to dangerously high levels.
Otago Regional Council spokesman Colin Walker said the rain had stopped and the lake level seemed to have peaked.
When the lake level reached 311.25 metres, the town would start to flood. At 8am today, the lake was at 310.8m, down from 310.86m at 4.30pm yesterday.
However, though the storm had passed, the sun brought its own problems: snow melt.
The lake level could still be influenced by the water running into the surrounding mountains into the lake and rivers, he said.
Lake Wakatipu's highest recorded level was in November 1999, when it reached 312.78m. The 1998 flood exceeded the previous devastating flood of 1868, Mr Walker said.
"Quite a lot of the buildings on the lakefront had a floor level of 312m. They had almost three-quarters of a metre of water on the ground floor."
- NZPA
