Watch: It Was 38 Years Since the 1984 Southland Flood

1984 floods cars going through water at railway crossing. Photo: old invercargill

Mike Sanford

Jan 30, 2022 - 1 min read

It was 38 years on 26-31st January 1984 it rained solidly for days around Invercargill and Southland suffered severe flooding.

Friday 27th January 1984 was named Southland’s Black Friday, take a look back at how town looked, some amazing images.

Below we have listed all the Flood chapters.

The Video:

The worst floods in memory struck Invercargill and parts of rural Southland on Friday 27th January 1984.

The disaster was foreshadowed by a national weather office report two days earlier, heavy rain was likely for 24-48 hours possibly over the whole South Island.

The weather map the next day Thursday 26th January showed a cold front was stationary over Southland and not expected to move for 18 hours.

In Marama avenue, Otatara, people, stranded, watch as the waters cutting them off from the city rise. Photo: old Invercargill.

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