Auckland Smashed by Almost a Full Summer of Rain in a Day

Swati Pandey
·1 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Auckland was hit by almost a whole summer’s worth of rain in just 15 hours, causing an Elton John concert to be canceled, thwarting long weekend travel plans, and leaving residents in flood-prone areas of New Zealand’s biggest city preparing to evacuate.

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Thunderstorms are ongoing, with flooding already extensive, houses inundated, and major traffic delays, New Zealand’s MetService said on Twitter. In Auckland, 166mm (6.5 inches) of rain fell in 15 hours, about 79% of a typical summer, research institute NIWA said in a Twitter post.

The Elton John concert was scrapped just a few minutes before the singer was expected on stage, leaving fans at Mt Smart Stadium trying to find a way home in the deluge, Radio New Zealand reported. About 40,000 people were due to attend.

Images and videos on social media showed emergency services going door-to-door on kayaks in rescue efforts in West Auckland with some homes knee-deep in water. Some streets were closed due to partial flooding while hundreds of cars were stuck in traffic on motorways, with further delays expected.

“Constituents are telling me it is worse than the floods 18 months ago,” MP Phil Twyford posted on Facebook. “I just spoke with one resident who was knee deep inside his house. Another family, living in a tiny house as they rebuilt after the 2021 flood, have lost everything again.”

Extreme weather events have become common around the globe which is experiencing its third straight year of La Nina, something that’s only happened twice since 1950. That has led to high insured losses, hitting agriculture produce and costing economies billions of dollars.

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