New Zealand declares state of emergency after Auckland hit by intense flooding

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A state of emergency was declared in Auckland after torrential rainfall in New Zealand’s biggest city is causing widespread flooding.

Residents in the worst-affected areas were told to leave their homes as chaos engulfed the city, which has seen motorways blocked, airports closed and a cancelled concert by Elton John leaving scores of people stranded in the city centre.

Online footage shows rescuers carrying out evacuations on kayaks while people are left trapped in waist-deep water.

A body was also found washed up in Wairau Valley on Auckland’s north shore, the NZ Herald reports.

Intense rainfall is expected to continue is the city throughout the night, with no end to the flooding in sight.

Auckland’s mayor Wayne Brown declared the state of emergency on Friday due to the extent of the ‘damage, displacement and disruption’ in the region.

The ruling will ‘enable emergency services and response agencies to draw on resources, and enact additional powers, to assist affected Aucklanders’.

Auckland’s mayor has declared a state of emergency after the city has been engulfed by flooding

Mr Brown has faced criticism for the time it took for him to respond to the floods but defended his actions by claiming his job wasn’t to ‘rush out with buckets’.

‘There has been some speculation, I could have acted sooner, but I couldn’t have. This is a formal process, not to be taken lightly,’ he said during a press conference.

Mr Brown said the declaration has consequences.

‘And so I’ve listened to the professionals in the field. The professionals who’ve been out there reporting back to their control centre. 

‘We have been on standby to receive the correct time for me to sign it, and immediately after I was given that call to make that decision, I did.’

New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins said on Friday evening that ‘all relevant government agencies are working flat out to help in an extraordinary set of circumstances’.

People have been forced to evacuate their homes in parts of the city (Picture: AP)

‘The emergency response is under way and the government is ready to assist as needed,’ he said.

Local media reported The New Zealand Defence Force was called in to help with evacuations.

Meanwhile, fire crews have received over 1,000 calls for assistance.

Auckland Airport said it was forced to reduce its operations after an arriving aircraft damaged runway lighting.

More: Weather

‘This is largely impacting international arrivals and departures and larger aircraft travelling domestically,’ the airport said on Twitter.

The national weather authority estimated 15cm of rain had fallen in the previous 11 hours.

The record for a 24-hour period stands at 16.2cm.

Heavy rain is expected to continue in the area for the next five days.

Extreme flooding, dubbed ‘once in a century’, was also recorded in Australia in recent weeks.

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