'Scary night': Dunedin residents say flood like nothing they've seen
· RNZIt has been a sleepless night for many Dunedin residents who were evacuated from their homes that are 'knee-deep' in water.
About 100 people evacuated on Thursday night after a state of emergency was put in place.
Residents flocked to the St Clair Golf Club evacuation centre and Forsyth Barr Stadium for safety.
Many residents have been reporting knee-deep water in some South Dunedin homes, where at least 18 roads have been closed across the city.
One St Clair resident told RNZ it was a "scary night", taking turns to check where the water was on their property off Forbury Road.
Neighbour Bernice Wright said her home was in the firing line if the rain continued to fall.
Forbury Road runs parallel to Surrey Street, where Dunedin Civil Defence and Emergency Management asked residents to evacuate last night ahead of the formal state of emergency declaration.
Wright said she had never seen rain like what had fallen in recent days.
Last night was frightening, she said.
Surrey Street resident Lynn decided to stay in her home despite others evacuating last night.
She told Nine to Noon she did not want to leave her two cats behind, and no flooding was inside her house. If it was to get worse, however, her bags were packed and ready.
Lynn said there was flooding in her garden.
"It's been raining heavy, I don't know what's happening in the rest of the city apart from what I'm reading on the Facebook pages from the city council.
"They've been pretty great this time, this is the third time since I've been here, since 2009 that this has happened, and they've been really great.
"I've had the fire brigade, I've had Civil Defence, I've had them come and bring sandbags because I couldn't lift the sandbags, I live by myself, and I'm retired, so they've done that, they've been really great, really proactive this time."
But Lynn said the main problem causing flooding near her property was old infrastructure that could not handle the rain.
She did not believe the water would rise as much as it did if the infrastructure was replaced.
"It's just crazy and it just makes me mad."
Chris Ford, who lives in a Kainga Ora property in South Dunedin did evacuate on Thursday night.
Ford told Nine to Noon there was a dodgy pipe on his property which had caused him the most concern, leading to his decision to take a precautionary step and leave.
He was safe in a motel despite his landlord taking steps to sandbag the property on Thursday.
Ford said he hoped the pipe would be fixed following this bout of flooding and he hoped to return to his home either later on Friday or on Saturday.
William Priest, who lives on Bayview Road, said it was not the best night to celebrate his 18th birthday, after heavy rain flooded his backyard overnight, fearing water would get into his home.
He said water was rising, and as high as the deck.
"We have a deck, and it is almost on the first step already, so eventually it will start going up, which is not a good thing."
Flooding affects farmers
Meanwhile, homes in the small settlement at Toko Mouth, near Milton, are surrounded by water and are at risk of flooding as rain continues to fall.
Local resident and farmer Simon Davies said they had a 130 millimetres of rain in the past 24 hours, and the power was out.
There was about 70 homes in the settlement, Davies said.
He said paddocks were flooded and he was hopeful stock managed to get to higher ground.
Another resident of the settlement, Glenda Wallace, told RNZ roads out were impassable.
At least one tree was down on the road from Milton that ran alongside Tokomairiro River and the coast road to Kaitangata, although higher, was also flooded and damaged.
Wallace said her house was elevated, although other homes in the settlement had water rising and the nearby creek was "running high and fast".
She had no power, but a log fire meant she could make tea and toast.
She said she and her neighbours were checking in on each other.
In the meantime, she would be "hunkering down with a cup of tea and a book".