Thousands of residences remain without electricity and hundreds are without water in Auckland and significant portions of the country’s north island, where a state of emergency is in effect.
Four people have died as heavy rain continues to pound the largest city in New Zealand, causing flash flooding and landslides.
Auckland and huge portions of the north island remain under a state of emergency, with more severe weather expected in the coming days following record rainfall since Friday.
Homes have been submerged, roads have been closed, and a train has derailed due to flooding.
Thousands of residences are still without power, and hundreds are without water, according to the authorities.
In some instances, chest-high water was captured on video released online.
“We are mindful of the likelihood of extra severe weather tonight,” said Auckland emergency management director Rachel Kelleher.
Flooding and landslides kill four
Carmel Sepuloni, the deputy prime minister of New Zealand, stated, “The most horrifying aspect is the loss of life.”
Police reported discovering one man’s body in a flooded culvert and another in a flooded parking lot.
After a landslide destroyed a Remuera home in Auckland, fire and rescue workers found a third victim.
Another individual who was reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters has since been declared dead.
Chris Hipkins, who has been prime minister for less than a week following Jacinda Ardern’s resignation, traveled to Auckland by military aircraft before boarding a helicopter to examine the damage.
Mr. Hipkins, who visited flood-affected homes, stated, “Our top goal is to ensure that Aucklanders are safe, that they are housed, and that they have access to the basic services they require.”
He continued, “This is an incident that has never occurred in recent memory.”
Air New Zealand has resumed both international and domestic flights into and out of Auckland following last week’s temporary closure of the airport.
This is global warming.
New Zealand is seeing more frequent and powerful downpours as a result of climate change. As highlighted by the country’s environment minister in a tweet of solidarity for individuals affected by flooding.
He wrote, “This is climate change.”
Everyone is responsible for ensuring that the New Zealand our children inherit is secure and habitable.
Forecasters said that Friday was the wettest day ever recorded in Auckland. As the amount of rain that normally falls throughout the entire summer fell in a single day.
In other locations, more than six inches of rain fell in just three hours.
Friday evening’s scheduled concert by Sir Elton John was postponed owing to inclement weather.
A second Sir Elton event scheduled for Saturday night at the Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland was also canceled.
Delay in emergency declaration criticized
The mayor of Auckland, Wayne Brown, has refuted allegations that his administration failed to adequately convey the gravity of the situation and delayed declaring a state of emergency until approximately 9:40 p.m. on Friday.
Experts dictated the timing of the emergency declaration, he said.
