1984 Southland floods
Flood event
While it was raining in Southland and Fiordland on the morning of 26 January 1984, the rain was forecast to become heavy within 18 hours. Throughout the day the rain got stronger, and after meeting with a southerly front, the streets of Invercargill, Riverton and Bluff started to experience surface flooding at about 9 pm. The floodwaters continued to rise, to the point where river banks started overflowing, and then houses became flooded. Sandbags and pumping was used to defend against the water, but this did not work well.[6]
The Mayor of Invercargill declared a state of emergency the next day, 27 January, at 4 am, due to severe flooding. Entire streets were flooded and people throughout the town evacuated from their homes. The flooding occurred throughout Southland, so the state of emergency was extended to cover it. The rain stopped on the same day, but the flooding continued to get worse. At one point, Invercargill Airport was three metres deep in water.[6]
It took until 27 February for the state of emergency to be lifted.[6]
There was 143mm of rainfall in total, which was "almost twice as much" as the month's average. On 26 January, Invercargill had 84.8mm of rain.[6] For the 24 hours before 9am on 27 January, Invercargill Airport had reported 134mm of rain.[7]
Impact
In Invercargill, about 4,000 people were evacuated from 1,000 homes.[8] In Otautau, 300 people were evacuated from 190 houses.[8] In Tuatapere, 70 homes were evacuated and 37 were flooded.[8] About 1,200 houses became uninhabitable.[9]
There were no human fatalities, although over 12,000 sheep, 334 pigs, 100 cattle and 75 died or were 'lost'.[6][8] In addition, 170 km of fencing and 52 farm bridges were destroyed.[8]
Paid out insurance claims totalled about $55 million.[6] A public flood relief appeal raised NZ$6 million.[8]
Environment Southland has described the event as a 'catalyst' for flood protection upgrades that were later done in the area.[9][10]
References
- ^ "Southland remembers the 1984 floods". The Southland Times. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ "Whārangi 4. Southland floods and Cyclone Bola". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ "History of floods in Southland, the worst recorded in 1984". The Southland Times. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ "Floods devastate Southland". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ "January 1984 Southland Flooding ( 1984-01-26 )". NIWA. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Southland floods". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ "Lessons from 1984 Southland flood still relevant today". Environment Southland. April 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Some people 'never' recovered". Otago Daily Times. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Southland council says more funding needed for flood protection". RNZ. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ "1984 floods led to vital upgrades". Southland Express. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
External links
Category:1980s disasters in New Zealand Category:Floods in New Zealand Category:Weather events in New Zealand Floods Category:History of the Southland Region