The state of affairs has left 1000’s stranded and a state of emergency was declared in response to the extreme storm.
There might be no flights till not less than midday on Saturday (10am AEDT).
Elton John’s live performance at Mt Sensible on Friday evening was cancelled lower than half an hour earlier than he was set to take to the stage as torrential rain wreaked havoc and the scheduled present deemed “too dangerous”.
The announcement was met with screams from the group, who have been already ready for it to begin.
“When the rain hit, it hit very hard and very fast,” Hipkins mentioned.
“Aucklanders do need to be braced for the fact that there could be more rain in the next few hours.”
Requested what his message to Aucklanders was, he urged folks to remain protected, minimise motion however look out for one another.
“I think clearly this is quite unprecedented.”
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown signed a state of emergency declaration shortly earlier than 10:30pm on Friday (8.30pm Friday AEDT) however has since been criticised over his response time.
The announcement got here hours after torrential rain, flash flooding and mass evacuations.
It additionally got here after a physique was discovered on Auckland’s North Shore. Police haven’t but confirmed whether or not the loss of life was in relation to flooding.
Civil Defence Minister Kieran McAnulty addressed the criticism, saying: “Essentially that was his call, we were ready.
“Nevertheless it’s uncommon to make judgments and opinions of responses once they’re part-way by”.
It would be reviewed later, he said, as emergency responses always are.
Meanwhile, police said they are aware of a large number of motorists that have been left stranded in the Warkworth area of the city without food or accommodation due to the floodwaters.
They are working in conjunction with Auckland Transport to facilitate their travel back home.
Police continue to respond to a large number of weather-related call-outs and incidents across the wider Auckland area and are urging people to avoid any unnecessary travel.
The true impact of the floods, which have made January officially Auckland’s wettest month on record, will not be known until the morning.
“As soon as the solar comes up … we’ll really know a bit bit extra about what we’re coping with and the true extent of the problem that’s forward of Auckland,” the PM said.
“The whole public service might be able to deploy assets as soon as we really perceive what’s required.”
MetService in New Zealand says Auckland is having its wettest month since records began.
“Till now, Auckland’s wettest January was in 1986 with 206mm, however already in January 2023 we now have had a rare 320mm of rain at Auckland Airport,” head of weather communications, Lisa Murray said.
“As well as, it seems like Auckland is having its wettest month ever since information started! Even beating July 1998 when 304mm was recorded for that month.”
MetService said the extreme event has been caused by warm air descending from the Tropics, bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms.
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