Wellington, Jan 29 (IANS): Four people were killed in rain-related incidents as torrential rainfall caused widespread flooding in New Zealand's Auckland city.
The record rainfall and severe weather in Auckland since Friday has caused massive flooding across the country's largest city, Xinhua News Agency reported.
While clear-up and damage assessment works have been underway, severe weather is continuing in the region. Civil Defence has put Heavy Rain Watch for Auckland from Sunday morning through until Monday morning.
The country's national meteorological service, MetService said that another weather system would move into Auckland and Northland in the next few days, while severe weather watch was still in place for upper North Island.
New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni said on Sunday that the government's priority is to make sure that Aucklanders are safe, housed and have access to support services.
Since Friday, Auckland recorded a historical rainfall volume with 249 mm of rain in 24 hours until 1:00 am Saturday. A state of emergency was declared for Auckland and nearby Waitomo.
The record rainfall has also forced the closure of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Airport.
At least 5,000 Auckland properties were assessed for flood or landslide damage.
The previous 24-hour record of rainfall in Auckland was 161.8 mm, dating back to February 1985, according to MetService.