Heavy rain in New Zealand, emergency declared in Auckland
New Zealand’s largest city has declared a state of emergency after torrential rain prompted widespread flooding and evacuations.
Friday’s downpour in Auckland shifted houses, stalled traffic and cut power to homes and businesses.
The city is said to have received 75% of its usual summer rainfall in just 15 hours.
“The impacts of the last 24 hours will be felt by many in Auckland for a long time,” said the national forecaster.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), the country’s climate science body, has said Friday was the wettest day on record for a number of locations in Auckland. Heavy rains have been forecast in various parts of the city for at least the next five days.
“It goes without saying that we need to have a conversation about how climate change is making these events more frequent and how cities like Auckland are massively underprepared,” said Mr March.
While climate scientists have cautioned against attributing individual weather events to climate change, research by NIWA has found the warming planet is leading to more extreme weather events in New Zealand.
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