Catchment sites and flood peak travel times

How do I interpret the information?

River levels are reported as metres above normal, where normal water level is zero metres. Values become negative when below zero. Downstream property owners may want to take note of levels from recorders upstream, for floods that could affect you.

As a guide, significant totals are:

• 24 hours – 50 mm on a wet catchment or 70 mm on a dry catchment
• 12 hours – 25 mm on a wet catchment or 45 mm on a dry catchment
• 6 hours – 15 mm on a wet catchment or 35 mm on a dry catchment

The rainfall in the last hour gives a good indication of whether it’s still raining, so take careful note of the time it was updated. Very intense hourly rainfall (over 10mm/hr) can cause sharp flood peaks. If you need help interpreting the data, call the flood duty officer.