The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Canterbury flooding: Ashburton residents endure sleepless night as river continues to rise

Sophie Trigger
By Sophie Trigger
Senior Political Reporter, Newstalk ZB·NZ Herald·
30 May, 2021 04:50 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Rising water levels in areas of Canterbury have sparked evacuations in parts of the region and more than 1000 homes in Christchurch are now without power. Video / Hamish Clark / MetService

Ashburton residents have endured a long night, awaiting possible evacuation as the river continues to rise following heavy rain throughout the day.

Ashburton is preparing for mass evacuations as the Ashburton River rises and heavy rain continues to fall, with up to 4000 homes at risk.

Ashburton resident Wendy Ranson lives in the town of Tinwald, just off the Asburton bridge.

She said she was expected the river to overflow, saying "it looks like it's already started".

"It's totally crazy down here … I'm worried about the river coming down to us as it's started now, but I haven't heard from anyone to see if we need to evacuate yet."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Up to 4000 homes are at risk if the Ashburton River overflows. Photo / Supplied
Up to 4000 homes are at risk if the Ashburton River overflows. Photo / Supplied

"My driveway is pretty bad at the moment, I'm debating whether I ring the council and ask for some sandbags, because I'm worried about my garage.

At 6pm on Sunday, she was not yet thinking about leaving, but said she also wasn't sure where to go.

"We don't really know where we're going to go, all the town is pretty closed off at the moment from what I've seen on Facebook," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We've been told we can go to Tinwald school but that doesn't really help because that's only around the corner."

Wendy Ranson said there was flooding in the Tinwald area. Photo / Wendy Ranson
Wendy Ranson said there was flooding in the Tinwald area. Photo / Wendy Ranson

A large part of the area around the Ashburton bridge was beginning to flood, she said.

"On this side of town, as you're driving towards the Ashburton bridge there's a wee rest area with a bench and walking tracks … that's completely covered in water now."

"There's an under viaduct where people can drive from street to street and that's completely closed off. So it's starting to come down the road."

Resident Shanan Bailey lives in Rakaia, around 30km north of Ashburton, and said she felt safe staying put for the night.

State highway 1 through Rakaia on Sunday afternoon. Photo / Shanan Bailey
State highway 1 through Rakaia on Sunday afternoon. Photo / Shanan Bailey

She had been told the Rakaia River still had capacity and was unlikely to overflow.

"There's not a lot of street flooding around the village because the council have done a lot of good work."

"We've got a fair bit to go but if the rain keeps up like it has been, who knows," she said.

"But we've got a pretty good fire brigade in Rakaia so they'll let us know."

"I think we'll be alright in Rakaia tonight."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

Premium
The Country

'They just keep coming': Illegal hunting causes frustration and fear on East Coast

The Country

Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes

The Country

Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Premium
Premium
'They just keep coming': Illegal hunting causes frustration and fear on East Coast
The Country

'They just keep coming': Illegal hunting causes frustration and fear on East Coast

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick highlights rising poaching concerns.

17 Jul 06:00 AM
Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes
The Country

Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes

17 Jul 03:49 AM
Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury
The Country

Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury

17 Jul 02:26 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP