Numerous New Zealanders had to be rescued from their houses and automobiles as the country’s largest metropolis was pummelling by “unprecedented” record rainfall, leaving two people dead.
According to the MetService, Auckland has received 249 millimetres of rain in the past 24 hours, breaking its previous record of 161.8 millimetres set in February 1985. The city also received its January rainfall in less than an hour.
Highways, roads, homes, businesses, and even the area’s main airport have all been overwhelmed with floods, causing tremendous mayhem throughout the region.
One guy’s corpse was discovered in a flooded culvert in Wairau Valley, according to police, while another man was discovered dead in a flooded parking lot in the same neighbourhood.
The NZ Herald reports that enquiries into their deaths are still underway.
Tourists at Auckland Airport were captured in horrifying photos and videos that were shared on social media trudging through water that was just shin-high.
No domestic or international aircraft are scheduled to depart from the airport until at least Saturday lunchtime or until the waters have subsided and the building and runway have been cleaned.
On Friday night, when the flight to Sydney was abruptly cancelled owing to weather, several passengers were left stranded inside their aircraft.
According to traveller Mark Andrews, food had been supplied for the entire planeload, but owing to a lack of water, they had to be released back into the airport around 1:45 a.m.
On several local and highways, some of which were entirely under water, scores of automobiles were left stranded.
In a video posted by a commuter aboard a crowded bus, water can be seen flowing over the road barrier, lapping at the doors, and eventually entering the bus due to the flooding.