WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND (AP) – A dangerous amount of rain is forecast today for New Zealand’s most populous city four days after Auckland had its wettest day on record in a storm that claimed four lives.
A state of emergency was declared on Friday when a volume of rain that would typically fall over an entire Southern Hemisphere summer hit in a single day.
At least 5,000 homes and businesses were being assessed for flood and landslide damage and several roads remained closed after more than 15 centimetres of rain fell in three hours.
The state of emergency for Auckland and surrounding districts was lifted yesterday morning. But Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown warned that dangerous conditions were forecast to return today.
“My team’s current focus and our big worry is that some Aucklanders might think the worse is behind us, but it isn’t,” Brown told reporters.
Brown said up to 12 centimetres of rain was forecast in some areas that were already waterlogged.
“That’s nothing like on Friday night, but the ground is so saturated and the drains are so full that if anything, it could be more dangerous than even on Friday,” Brown said.
Brown said the number of residents of Auckland and surrounding areas asking for help due to storm damage would continue to rise.
