KEY POINTS
* A state of emergency has been declared in Auckland following a severe storm and rain that has caused widespread flooding and damage
* No flights will arrive or depart Auckland Airport until noon on Saturday
* More than 2000 calls for assistance have been made around the city
* MetService has issued a red heavy rain warning for the region after a record 24 hours of rainfall - 249mm, smashing the previous 24-hour record of 161.8mm
* Auckland Emergency Management is asking people to stay home if possible
* Mayor Wayne Brown said that people should follow emergency directions: "We need the rain to stop, that's the main issue"
* Sir Elton John's Friday and Saturday concerts at Mt Smart have been cancelled
Three people have died and one is missing after raging floodwaters and slips caused by an unprecedented deluge of rain across Auckland - the city’s wettest day on record.
A state of emergency remains in place across the region, with Auckland Airport and State Highway 1 partially closed. Sir Elton John’s second Auckland concert has been cancelled tonight, as has Monday’s Laneway Festival event.
The Gardens Music Festival will still be going ahead as it moves indoors to Spark Arena. Organisers of the festival, which includes acts Fatboy Slim, Peking Duck, LP Giobbi, and Set Mo, has confirmed they are in the process of moving into Spark Arena ahead of the event on Sunday.
There is also widespread damage to homes, with many residents evacuated. Several homes in Hillsborough, Massey, Stanley Pt and Northcote Pt have been left teetering on the top of cliff-faces, following dramatic landslides, and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni says some people have lost entire homes.
Police and other emergency services responded last night to a landslide that brought down a house on Shore Rd. The New Zealand Herald understands the dead man’s son, who was also in the house at the time, managed to escape despite being initially trapped by one of his legs. The son, who was near the front door when the landslip occurred, then tried in vain to find his father.
A man was also swept away by floodwaters in Onewhero about 10.15pm, and has not yet been found.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding.
"This is an unprecedented event in recent memory," Hipkins said.
The PM, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and emergency response officials spoke to media to address the devastating flooding that impacted the city.
"The levels of devastation in some areas is considerable," Hipkins said.The PM confirmed three people had died and a fourth person was still missing. He offered his condolences to those who had lost loved ones.
Asked if the state of emergency was announced too late last night, Hipkins said we would not get into "second-guessing" decisions surrounding that.
He said there would be a review of the process and assured Aucklanders that central Government would be providing more support in the coming days and to expect more bad weather.
"or now the focus is supporting Aucklanders through this."
Brown insisted there were "thousands" of people already "out there" before they declared an emergency. He said the response had been faster than most people realised.
"We will review everything that took place," the mayor said.
Some of the houses that were flooded should not be positioned where they were, he said.
Brown said there was "widespread" misinterpretation that they had to "declare something" to make things happen.
Responding to questions about the time a state of emergency was declared, Brown said he had been working at his desk from 4pm until "the early hours of the morning".
He said there was a formal protocol regarding signing the state of emergency declaration and it wasn’t something people do lightly.
International departures won’t resume until tomorrow at the earliest and arrivals won’t start landing until 4am Sunday.
State Highway 1 is closed or restricted in eight areas. Officials briefly opened the new Puhoi motorway north of Auckland last night, to rescue stranded motorists.
Overnight, a number of international flights had to be diverted to other countries, or returned to their departure point. Air NZ 1 - the direct flight from New York to Auckland - diverted to Hawaii, one of 12 international diversions for the airline. Emirates and American Airlines flights were also sent elsewhere.
Hato Hone St John said their staff were involved in 520 incidents across the Auckland District – a 20 per cent increase when compared to the average daily figure for December 2022.
Record amount of rain: MetService
MetService said a record amount of rain had fallen on Auckland in 24 hours - by 1am today, the region had recorded 249mm of rain, smashing the previous 24-hour record of 161.8mm in February 1985.
Monthly records have also been broken: the wettest January recorded at the Auckland Airport weather station until now was in 1986 with 20cm and the wettest month ever was July 1998 with 30cm. So far this month 32cm of rain has been recorded - a “massive” amount, MetService said.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins travelled to Auckland on Saturday morning. “When the rain hit, it hit very hard and very fast ... Aucklanders need to brace for the fact there could be more rain,” he told reporters in Wellington earlier in the day.
More rain was forecast to bucket down today, while Civil Defence warned Aucklanders in flood-prone areas to prepare to evacuate and urged others to stay home as the torrential rain worsened last night, adding people should check on friends and neighbours if it was safe to do so.
Every available Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) crew in Auckland was on deck and have responded to more than 2000 calls for help.
Crews responded to 719 weather related incidents in Waitemata, Auckland city and Counties Manukau between 12.01am on Friday and 7.30am on Saturday.
District manager Brad Mosby says there were 2,242 111 calls answered by Fire and Emergency Communications Centre staff, which resulted in 2074 calls for assistance during the weather event.
"This was an unprecedented number of calls and we had to prioritise. We had every available career and volunteer crew on the road responding to the most serious events."
These included 126 rescues of people trapped in cars and houses, or involved in motor vehicle crashes; 84 priority one incidents (where there was a confirmed threat to people); and 237 priority two incidents (where there was a possible threat to people)
The rest of the 719 responses comprised private fire alarm activations, structure fires and medical callouts.
Houses reportedly moved off their foundations in Rānui, according to Fenz. A resident said houses were “underwater” and photographs from the scene showed river-like streets.
”The damage is going to be really really bad once this rain goes away,” Camphora Rd resident Prashant Roy said last night. ”The way it’s going, the way it’s raining, maybe by midnight these houses are going to be underwater fully."
Many major roads and highways around the city were closed due to flooding. About 18 vehicles were trapped between two slips on State Highway 1 about 3km north of the Johnstones Hill Tunnels near Puhoi.
Auckland Mayor: I couldn't act sooner
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has been criticised for acting too slowly in the crisis by residents and several politicians, but defended his actions late last night when speaking to reporters.
Local civil defence authorities met last night to discuss how to respond to the ongoing crisis. A state of emergency was declared at about 9.30pm, Brown said.
There were several calls for the mayor to have declared a state of emergency earlier last night. But Brown defended himself against criticism, including from city councillors and MPs, telling reporters after 11pm: “I couldn’t act sooner, it was a formal process ... I’ve listened to the professionals in the field.”
He added: “My role isn’t to rush out with buckets. It’s to be here ensuring that the centre is well organised and that we are taking the appropriate steps at the appropriate time, not rushing into them In response to noise outside.
“This is not something that you just respond to because of a clamour by the public.”
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Twitter: “I’m pleased an emergency declaration has been made due to flooding in Auckland tonight. All relevant govt agencies are working flat out to help in an extraordinary set of circumstances. The emergency response is underway and the Government is ready to assist as needed.”
He said the Beehive Bunker was activated to help with coordination of the emergency response in Auckland. “I’ve asked for the frequency of public updates to be increased as soon as possible.”
Senior Government Minister Michael Wood also said on Twitter: “In my patch this is the worst flooding I have ever seen and more may come overnight.”
Wood explained the final call on a formal declaration for a state of emergency sat with Auckland's mayor.
The Mt Roskill MP, who is also the Minister of Transport, also instructed staff at Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport Agency to get back to work after its social media team issued a “final update” at 7.40pm. “I have seen this and instructed the Agency to re-open their channels urgently,” he tweeted.
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said on Twitter shortly after 10pm: “The Mayor of Auckland has declared a state of emergency. NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency) can now provide additional support and resources from other regions. I’m continuing to receive live updates from NEMA, liaising with Auckland based MPs and updating the Prime Minister as needed.”
After declaring the state of emergency, Brown said in a statement: “This declaration reflects the extent of damage, displacement and disruption caused by this evening’s severe weather event and enables emergency services and response agencies to draw on resources, and enact additional powers, to assist affected Aucklanders.”
He said the region had experienced “widespread damage from flooding and torrential rain”, while infrastructure and emergency services alike have been overwhelmed by the impacts of the storm. The state of local emergency comes into force immediately and expires in seven days.
Brown said he had been “closely monitoring the situation in his office all evening” and signed the declaration immediately following formal advice.
