Deluge traps shoppers, floods homes
A severe thunderstorm watch has been lifted for Auckland but rain flooded nearly 200 homes.
And firefighters had to pull shoppers to safety after they became trapped in the West Auckland suburb of New Lynn about 1.20pm yesterday. Many of them were suffering from exposure, the Fire Service said.
Nearly 200 West Auckland homes flooded, with the water up to waist-deep in some houses.
Glen Eden was the hardest-hit suburb, with 65 homes underwater. Twenty homes in Avondale, 30 in Henderson, 10 in West Harbour, 43 in Titirangi and eight in Te Atatu were also waterlogged.
A power outage in Glen Eden also affected 2853 homes for most of the day.
Metservice issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the region yesterday morning and was warning of heavy rain, with downpours of 50mm per hour or more, until about 2pm.
‘‘Rainfall of this intensity can cause flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips.’’ The watch was lifted about 3.20pm.
In the Clevedon-maraetaihunua area, and on Waiheke Island roads were still closed because of flooding and slips.
Heavy rain across the Wellington region also caused surface flooding, slips and closed roads.
Persistent rain flooded properties in Pauatahanui, near Porirua, yesterday and two roads were closed by surface flooding.
In Seatoun, Wellington, drivers were urged to look out for slips and rockfalls. State Highway 1, SH2 and SH58 all remained open but surface flooding was making driving difficult in some parts, including SH1 at Johnsonville and the Mana Esplanade.
The New Zealand Transport Agency urged motorists to take care as the highway network was stressed by crashes at Otaki and Pukerua Bay.
Police were also advising motorists to take extra care on the roads in central Hawke’s Bay, where heavy rain was also causing surface flooding.
Metservice forecaster Cameron Coutts said the heaviest rainfall in the Wellington region was at Kaitoke, in Upper Hutt, where 90mm fell during the 24 hours to Sunday morning.