Twice in three days last week Dannevirke was hit by 3pm with convectional storms reminiscent of the tropics. The impact was limited to the town itself, areas outside it reporting no rain at all.
On Monday 23mm fell in an hour flooding a number of buildings on High Street including Wards Pharmacy, Derek's Electrical and NZCU Baywide which had to close early.
On Ward Street a coke bottle in a downpipe caused a buildup of water above the Fountain Theatre which then surged through the auditorium knee deep and out the front door.
The Dannevirke Fire Brigade pumped out the water, a commercial cleaner from Palmerston North came and dried out carpets and furniture in time for the Vicar of Dibley to open successfully on Wednesday night having luckily survived the latest deluge.
![Stacking the furniture in the Fountain Theatre on Monday so it was all dry for Vicar of Dibley opening night Wednesday.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/JOWLF2U7VQSZ6BRD4SDS35TKO4.jpg?auth=c076e46a74746141d1830046b9546406782aef6e448bcfd9cb7b180133ab5cc6&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)