Rude awakening for sleeping Otago campers

A further 40mm of rain is possible in Central Otago today, on top of what has already fallen, says the MetService. File photo / Dean Purcell

A massive landslip swept through a campground in flood-stricken Otago early today, shifting a building where up to 42 people were sleeping six metres across a roadway.

Police said that no one was injured in the incident at the Berwick Forest campground, near Outram, 27km west of Dunedin, and the campers were transferred to the caretaker's premises before being evacuated to Dunedin.

"The building was basically shunted across the road," Dunedin Senior Sergeant Brian Benn told the Otago Daily Times.

Four vehicles were damaged by the slip, three of which were yet to be retrieved, he said.

The building belonged to the Otago Youth Club Trust and among those evacuated were Red Cross emergency teams on a weekend training exercise.

The slip happened as police and Civil Defence issued fresh warnings about flooding and landslides following continued rain.

State Highway 1 south of Oamaru was closed at Big Kuri this morning and motorists were warned there were no detours and should stay at home unless travel was absolutely essential.

SH1 north of Oamaru was already closed.

A Civil Defence (CD) alert was also sparked after the Silver Stream, swollen by heavy overnight rain, burst its banks at Mosgiel this morning.

An Otago Regional Council spokesman told the Otago Daily Times residents in the area had been notified but it was not yet known whether any homes were threatened.

MetService this morning issued a new severe weather warning for eastern Otago with some heavy falls expected until the middle of this afternoon.

It said a further 30 to 40mm was possible up to about 2pm today, on top of what had already fallen. People were advised to watch for already swollen rivers and streams, and surface flooding.

Meanwhile, a structural engineer will today decide whether three Oamaru residents evacuated last night after a large slip can return home.

The engineer would assess the houses on Aln Street and report back to CD which would decide on the next steps to be taken.

There was damage to some of the houses, the extent of which was still to be evaluated.

The residents were not injured and were provided with places to stay for the night.

Fifty rural roads also remained closed, and would be reassessed today, CD said.

There have been three slips in the harbour town of Portobello, near Dunedin, one sweeping a glasshouse and shed down Portobello Rd, closing the town's main route to Dunedin.

But the extent of damage to roads throughout the region would not be clear for some weeks, and it would be some months before repairs were completed.

The cost of fixing up the flood damage would be in the millions of dollars, but it was too early to know exactly how much.

Meanwhile, a thousand people in Waitaki district were without drinking water this morning.

Due to river conditions reducing the capacity of the Milton Water Treatment Plant to treat water, Clutha District Council asked all consumers in Milton township to conserve water.

The supply at Palmerston, between Dunedin and Oamaru, had been turned off but desperate residents can use a tap and hose to fill containers with fresh drinking water at the town's Whitestone Contracting Yard.

Containers could also be filled from tankers at the Herbert garage and the Papakaio Hall, while the army was delivering 20 jerry cans of water to the Dunback Hotel for distribution.

- NZPA