A burst water main that is spouting up to 15 metres into the air has caused significant damage and major flooding on the highway into Hobart.
The main burst about 6:40pm, and emergency services and TasWater crews are working late into the night to try and stop the waterflow and its associated damage.
"Unfortunately while it's quite spectacular and has drawn crowds, it's starting to cause quite a deal of damage — not only to the road and pathways — but also to an adjoining building which is in danger of collapsing," Detective Inspector Craig Joel said.
That adjoining building, DJ Motors, has more than 20 cars inside and would be "severely affected", according to police.
State Government engineers were being called to the scene overnight amid concerns about the impact of the heavy waterflow on the Brooker Highway, which is one of Hobart's busiest roads.
Police are also worried about the impact on peak-hour morning traffic into the city.
Residents are being told to expect water outages.
"My expectation will be that adjoining houses and nearby houses will be affected in terms of water and electricity supply, so I would just urge residents to stock up on water just in the event that their mains are turned off and they are unable to access water particularly for drinking purposes," Detective Inspector Joel said.
TasWater has been contacted for comment.
