flooded city

Christchurch was battered by strong winds and very heavy rain all yesterday and all night long. When I went into the city first thing this morning I wondered if I would get home. Colombo St was flooded at Beckenham shops - which is most unusual. Normally it is just around the river areas that flood.

I came home a couple of hours later via a different route, but Barrington St was closed as the road was completely awash and cars were stuck in the flooded street outside the mall - again that is a long way from the river. However both the Avon and Heathcote rivers have burst their banks, roads throughout the city are completely closed, many houses flooded, and still a lot of people without power. All very sad for home owners who are still trying to cope with the aftermath of earthquake damage.

The big picture clearly shows a men at work sign at the edge of the road on the opposite side of the river. But the river is now up to the house letterbox, whereas it would normally be about 2 metres below the road.