After a flood, the ORC identifies the damage to our flood protection and drainage scheme and prioritises it for repair. We are required to share the repair programme with affected communities within three months of the event. 

This page lists recent floods and sets out the repair programmes. 

A rainfall event between 3 and 5 October 2024 affected coastal Otago from Palmerston to the Catlins, and inland to the Manuherikia River in Central Otago. We are currently assessing flood damage to Otago Regional Council’s flood, drainage and river management infrastructure and compiling our flood recovery work programme.

Details will be shared on this page when available.

A rainfall event between 21 and 22 September 202 affected Central Otago and the upper catchments on Otago’s rivers. 

Four successive rainfall events in July and August 2022 affected rivers and flood protection and drainage schemes across Otago: 

• 12-14 July 2022 (Dunedin and Coastal Otago) 
• 17-20 July 2022 (Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes) 
• 25-29 July 2022 (Dunedin and Coastal Otago) 
• 5-8 August 2022 (Headwaters of the Queenstown Lakes, impacting the Lower Clutha Flood Protection and Drainage Scheme) 

We completed a full damage assessment after the river flows subsided at the end of this sequence.