English: On the 13th March 1986 the Timaru District suffered from extensive flooding. Rainfall was heaviest in parts of South Canterbury, where serious flooding resulted. 114mm was recorded at Timaru Airport in the 24 hours to 9am on the 13th. Many roads were scoured and the main trunk line was undermined in many places. About 50 bridges were partly washed away or seriously damaged. The worst affected township was Pleasant Point, where 1200 people were evacuated as the Tengawai River burst its banks and water up to 1.5m deep flooded the town.

The Ministry of Civil Defence took many images of the damage, resulting in an album with more than 230 photographs of the damage across South Canterbury. These 4 images relate to (from clockwise top left): State Highway 1 Timaru to Hinds; Pig Hunting Creek; Halls Stream Bridge & McIntosh Creek. The entire album can be viewed in our Wellington Reading Room. The Ministry of Civil Defence have transferred a number of photo albums to Archives New Zealand related to natural disasters in, including images of damage caused by the Inangahua earthquake and the Edgecumbe earthquake. For further enquiries email Research.Archives@dia.govt.nz

Reference: ABUG 7881 W5083 17 P86/6 archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=1272858

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