Auckland expects more rain after deadly floods

Auckland is expected to receive further heavy rain in the coming days, authorities said on Monday.

New Zealand’s largest city was hit by flash floods and landslides over the past three days, with record rainfall. Four people have lost their lives. A state of emergency is in place for Auckland, but was lifted for the Waitomo region.

“My team’s current focus and our big worry is that some Aucklanders might think the worse is behind us, but it isn’t,” Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told reporters.

How much rain is expected in Auckland?

More heavy rains have been predicted on Tuesday. “We have more adverse weather coming and we need to prepare for that,” Auckland Emergency Management duty controller Rachel Kelleher told a media conference.

The north of New Zealand’s

North Island is receiving more rain than normal due to the La Nina weather event.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said Auckland has already recorded more than eight times its average January rainfall and 40% of its annual average rainfall.

“This rain is expected to cause dangerous river conditions and significant flooding. Slips and floodwaters are likely to disrupt travel, making some roads impassable and possibly isolating communities,” a MetService statement said.

At least 5,000 homes and businesses were being assessed for flood and landslide damage and several roads remained closed after more than 15 centimetres (6 inches) of rain fell in three hours.

The city council has designated 69 houses as uninhabitable, and another 300 were at risk.