For three days the north island of New Zealand, where many of the country’s main cities are located, including the capital Auckland, has been hit by heavy rains, which have caused landslides, flash floods and structural damage to roads and buildings. Four people have died so far.
The same amount of rain that usually falls in an entire summer on the island fell this weekend: 249 mm (9.7 in) on Saturday alone. It was the worst rains since 1985, when a flash flood killed three people and damaged more than fifty homes in the New Zealand town of Te Aroha, less than two hours from the capital.
For anyone that doesn’t know New Zealand has been hit with the worst rain it’s ever had since 1985. The whole of the north island has flooded. Flash floods taking cars, homes and lives. A relative of mine being the unfortunate one to stumble upon the first dead body. pic.twitter.com/2AqEj6IIjy
— Storm (@Storm_is_god) January 27, 2023
A state of emergency was declared in Auckland and other towns on the island late Saturday evening. In the cities, thousands of buildings were left without electricity and hundreds without water: according to the New Zealand Herald, in the last two days seventy houses in the Auckland area had to be evacuated due to the flooding. Forty-five roads around Auckland have been closed or partially closed due to damage from massive flooding. Near a bay southeast of Auckland, the Bay of Plenty, ten carriages of a freight train carrying logs derailed, but the workers on board were not injured.
According to the main local weather service, MetService, it is expected to rain even more during the day on Sunday and then on Monday. Climate Change Minister James Shaw he underlined that the most common and intense rainfall episodes that are hitting some regions of New Zealand are directly linked to climate change.
