At least three people have died and one is missing after New Zealand’s biggest city experienced its “wettest day on record” on Friday.
Auckland reportedly had 75% of its normal summer rainfall in just 15 hours.
A local state of emergency was declared as authorities managed evacuations and widespread flooding.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins thanked emergency services for their prompt response to the disaster.
The new prime minister visited Auckland to offer condolences to the families of flood victims. “The loss of life highlights the scale of this weather phenomenon and how quickly it turned tragic,” he said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.
Heavy rains flooded the airport, destroyed homes, and caused hours of power outages.
The New Zealand Defense Force was mobilized to assist in the evacuation and emergency shelters were set up throughout the city.
Ricardo Menendez-March, a Green MP and Auckland resident, told the BBC that he had to evacuate after the area he lived in was rapidly flooded, but a friend near him took shelter. said to have found
“Unfortunately, there were people who weren’t so lucky: low-income communities, people with disabilities, even immigrant communities,” he said. Online footage showed people trapped in waist-deep flood waters and rescue workers using kayaks to evacuate. Other images showed groceries running down the flooded aisles of multiple supermarkets.
International departures from Auckland Airport are suspended until at least 05:00. Local time on Sunday 00: 07:00
Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) said it had shifted its focus from evacuation to post-rain cleanup efforts.
They cautioned locals not to travel unless absolutely necessary, saying in a tweet: “Don’t plan a weekend getaway because of ‘less rain’ today.” Severe weather is expected in Auckland through Tuesday, according to MetService.
The country’s climate science agency, the National Institute of Water and Atmosphere Research (NIWA), said Friday was the wettest day on record for many parts of Auckland. Heavy rain is expected in various parts of the city for at least the next 5 days. “Obviously we need to talk about how climate change is making these events more common and how cities like Auckland are so ill-prepared,” March said.
Climate scientists have cautioned against attributing individual weather phenomena to climate change, but a NIWA study found that global warming is causing extreme weather in New Zealand.
