Key points
- Auckland and now Waitomo are under a state of emergency
- Death toll has risen to four after flooding in Auckland
- Heavy rain has hit Coromandel and Bay of Plenty overnight; Coromandel is cut off on Sunday
- More heavy rain forecast for North Island and the upper part of the South Island
- A train has derailed in Te Puke due to rain on the tracks
- A house has collapsed in Tauranga but no injuries have been reported
- An Interislander ferry lost power in Cook Strait but managed to restart its engines and arrived in Wellington about 9pm on Saturday
- Officials say people in immediate danger should call 111, keep an eye on social media, and evacuate to a nearby shelter if they need
NZ's three biggest weather agencies are predicting another heavy deluge for Auckland and North Island areas over coming days, as a sweeping rain band moves down the country to include the top of the South Island.
The forecast offers little respite to residents still recovering from record rainfall and heavy flooding that left three people dead in Auckland.
Monday will be a brief reprieve for Aucklanders to clean up, assess damage and clear gutters and drains in preparation for another major weather event arriving on Tuesday and Wednesday, MetService’s Georgina Griffiths said in an Auckland Emergency Management briefing on Sunday afternoon.
In the Coromandel, authorities said the peninsula has been completely cut off on Sunday after heavy rain pummelled the region, causing flooding and slips.
Civil Defence urged people to stay off the roads and to avoid travelling at all costs.
State Highway 25A, between Kopu and Hikuai was closed due to a significant slip. Meanwhile, State Highway 25, between Whangamata and Waihi, and at Manaia, is closed due to flooding.
There was heavy overnight rain in Bay of Plenty, which led to at least one Tauranga home destroyed by a landslide, residents being evacuated and more road closures. The Waitomo district has joined Auckland in announcing a state of emergency. It took effect at 7.05pm and expires in seven days.
Waitomo District Mayor John Roberston said the district had experienced widespread flooding and heavy rain, with reports of flooding, slips and inundation. Residents currently impacted by flooding are also being evacuated.
“The situation in Waitomo is serious, and with nightfall upon us and more rain expected, it’s important we are prepared and have the right controls in place to provide help and support, including further evacuations.”
Meanwhile, a freight train has derailed near Te Puke due to rain on the tracks. KiwiRail said the train was travelling on the East Coast Main Trunk Line (ECMT) from Kawerau to Mt Maunganui went over a flooded section of track, east of Te Puke, about 5.30am today.
The locomotive remained on the tracks but up to 10 wagons, carrying logs and pulp, derailed. The two-person train crew were not hurt. KIwiRail teams are inspecting the site, and regulators, including the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, have been notified. The section of the ECMT is currently closed.
Band of rain extends to upper South Island
The belt of rain which has brought flooding and slips across northern New Zealand was mainly centred over the Waikato and Waitomo District on Sunday, but is also reaching northern Taranaki and parts of the upper South Island.
Residents in already hard-hit areas like Auckland, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty are on watch for thunderstorms and more heavy rain.
MetService now says there could be heavy rain and thunderstorms as far south as the Marlborough Sounds and the Rai Valley, as well as Tasman. It has put in place heavy rain warnings for Auckland, Waikato, Waitomo, Mount Taranaki, Marlborough Sounds and Tasman northwest of Motueka.
Thunderstorm watches are also in place for Manawatu, Tararua and Kapiti-Horowhenua.
Auckland may be getting a month’s worth of rain or more in the coming days. MetService meteorologist Luis Fernandes said on Sunday that more wet weather could be expected for much of the North Island, with the northern parts again seeing the most rain.
“Heavy rain affected parts of Bay of Plenty and Coromandel overnight and there will be more rain today, in particular for Coromandel."
A Heavy Rain Warning remains for the Coromandel Peninsula until 6pm, as heavy showers and possible thunderstorms continue to pass over the area.
“Auckland is currently under a Heavy Rain Watch for today, as we expect the band showers currently affecting Coromandel, to drift toward Auckland by afternoon,” he said.
“As these areas of enhanced rainfall move westward, it will then affect Northland and a Heavy Rain Warning has been issued for the region, starting from mid-afternoon today.”
NIWA said another “atmospheric river” was poised to bring more widespread rain, likely heavy, along with strong winds to the upper North Island. “Current timing suggests late Monday into early Wednesday. Details likely to evolve between now and then,” it tweeted.WeatherWatch predicted isolated thunderstorms and wet weather today and says the wet weather system is sliding back and forth. “This means Auckland and other northern areas have more heavy rain - and more gales - mainly this Tuesday, with long dry spells today before the heavier showers are possible again. Over Sunday and Monday wet weather will spread back to a number of places, with isolated thunderstorms.
“Between slow-moving thunderstorms and the general rain forecast, Auckland City may still receive a further 80 to 120mm in the coming days, this is a month’s worth of rain, or more, still to move in this week,” says head forecaster Philip Duncan. “The wettest and windiest day looks to be later on Tuesday which may be stormy for some in Auckland and Northland.”
Four deaths confirmed, 5000 homes need assessment in Auckland
Four people have died and one is missing after raging floodwaters and slips caused by an unprecedented deluge of rain across Auckland on Friday - easily the city’s wettest day on record. A state of emergency remains in place across the region.
The body of a man swept away by floodwaters in Onewhero on Friday was found today. Police said while formal identification is yet to be completed, it is believed to be the missing man.
He was found by a drone operator about 1km downstream from where he was last seen.
At a media conference on Sunday afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni said the death of four people was was "horrific".
"I think it's been a traumatic experience... That's the most horrific part of it that we've lost lives. Clearly alongside every Aucklander and New Zealander we share in our condolences and sadness with that person's family."
Emergency officials announced on Sunday morning that nine Auckland properties have been red-stickered, including several in Remuera. This number is only the tip of the iceberg, with more than 5000 properties across 25 suburbs needing some level of assessment.
More properties would be red-stickered today, said Ian Mcormick, the Auckland Council officer overseeing the building control team assessing damage to properties.
There has been criticism of the delay in Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown announcing a state of emergency on Friday night, along with sluggish communications from officials and an absence of emergency warning text messages. Brown said Friday was a tough night for the whole city, and its leadership.
Thousands of insurance claims have already been lodged amid widespread damage across the supercity.
The floods also conspired to ruin the Auckland Anniversary weekend plans of many, closing the airport and cancelling events including two Sir Elton John concerts on Friday and Saturday, and the Laneway Festival at Western Springs on Monday.
The Gardens Music Festival, already moved from Victoria Park to the Auckland Domain, is still planned to go ahead today, but indoors at Spark Arena.
Tauranga home collapses
Twenty-four homes have been evacuated due to a large slip in Maungatapu which crashed into homes on Egret Ave about midnight last night.
It comes as 63 callouts to Fire and Emergency have been made in the Bay of Plenty this weekend, including two rescues, two “priority one” incidents (where there is a confirmed risk to people) and 23 “priority two” incidents (where there is a potential risk to people).
A Tauranga City Council media statement said the residents of the evacuated homes were staying with friends and family while damage is assessed today. “One house has suffered severe damage and two others have been significantly impacted.”
Police confirmed no one was seriously injured. Council building inspectors and Geotech engineers were at the site evaluating the damage and assessing the safety of the area.
Residents said they heard a massive rumble that sounded like thunder, then screams.
“It was very terrifying,” said neighbour Hayley Vincent. “It was just awful, and we were trying to do what we could to help. There were kids calling for help.”
Neighbours Brian and Tina Garden said they went outside to see the house in the middle of the street after hearing the slip.
Five children crawled out of the rubble of the home, screaming and covered in mud.
“They were all covered in mud and one girl had cuts. I ran over and took them towels,” Mrs Garden said. “It was horrendous.”
PM visits flood-hit city
On Saturday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins flew to Auckland’s Whenuapai air base aboard an Air Force Hercules. He met affected families and emergency services in West Auckland together with Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty and Mayor Brown.
About 70 displaced people had visited Civil Defence Centres since they opened on Friday.
Hipkins said Civil Defence payments had been activated and accommodation was available for displaced people. “The levels of devastation in some areas is considerable."
He assured Aucklanders central Government would be providing more support in the coming days and told residents to expect more bad weather.
He thanked emergency service workers and all those involved in the response to the flooding. “I want to acknowledge the way Aucklanders have come together to support each other.”
Air NZ jet 'loses control', international flights resume
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has opened an inquiry into an incident on Friday in which an Air New Zealand Boeing 777 “lost control on the ground” during Auckland’s wild weather.
The commission said Flight NZ 124 from Melbourne landed at Auckland International Airport during wind gusts and very heavy rain.
Chief Investigator of Accidents Naveen Kozhuppakalam said shortly after touchdown, the pilot briefly lost directional control and the aircraft veered from the runway centreline.
While the pilot regained control, “there was damage reported to six runway edge lights and to the aircraft’s undercarriage assembly, including deflation of one tyre. We’ve received no reports of injuries to passengers or crew.”
Kozhuppakalam has appointed two investigators.
Meanwhile, international flights at Auckland Airport resumed on Sunday, following two days of disruption caused by the bad weather.
Air New Zealand's chief operational integrity and safety officer, Captain David Morgan, says the airline’s international arrivals into and departures out of Auckland would resume from 12pm today.
“As the airline works to process the backlog of customers and flights, the priority is to get customers who have been disrupted since the closure of the airport on flights as soon as we can.
“We know it hasn’t been as easy process for customers with long wait times through to our call centre, but our team are doing their best. Yesterday we had over 31,500 calls, compared to 4,600 on Saturday last week. We’re grateful for the patience of our customers while we work through this increase in calls”.
To help customers self-serve, Air New Zealand as added further capability to the manage booking function allowing customers booked on an Air New Zealand service the ability to rebook their cancelled international flight over the next 20 days. This has been extended from 10 days due to limited capacity available.
The airline would have 13 flights departing and 15 flights arriving into Auckland International Airport on Sunday.
“We’ve got volunteers from across the business heading out to the airport to help our customers. We’re doing everything we can to make this process as simple as we can, but customers should be aware there will be delays while they are checking in”.
- NZ Herald, RNZ and ODT Online
