It has been raining for the last five or six days in Central Otago. The rivers are high. The rivers flow into four big lakes in that area: Lake Hawea, Lake Te Anau, Lake Manapouri and Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown is on the shores of Lake Wakatipu.

Roads and schools have closed in many places around these lakes. The telephone lines were down at Te Anau. Trampers in Fiordland National Park had to be taken off the tracks by helicopter because the rivers were too high to cross.

Now it looks as if Queenstown will flood overnight. In 1999, flooding in Queenstown closed the shopping area and caused a lot of damage. Water was waist-deep in the street after 2m of rain in two days.

Now Queenstown is prepared. Many people have helped to put sand bags around the shore and pipes to break the waves. If the water from the lake comes into the shopping area, this time it will probably only be ankle-deep and affect about 35 shops. Those shopkeepers have moved things out of their shops.

The rain could continue for another few days.

Questions to think about

How can anyone prepare for floods?

What damage can a flood do to homes and shops?

What damage can a flood do to farms?