Authorities said one person was found dead in a flooded well and another dead person was found in a flooded parking lot. A third body has been found in a landslide that swept through a home in an Auckland suburb.
A man is still missing after being swept away by the water.
Newly appointed Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said three people had been confirmed dead and one person was still missing.
The authorities declared a state of emergency in the region.
Summer rain
Friday was the wettest day on record in Oakland, according to the weather service. The same amount of rain that usually falls in the entire summer fell in one day. On Friday evening, more than 15 centimeters of rain fell in three hours in some places.
Emergency services reported that they made 700 calls while it was raining and received about 2,000 emergency calls.
“We have all the personnel and volunteers available on the roads to take care of the most urgent incidents,” says Regional Rescue Commander Brad Mosby.
Auckland airport was closed on Friday after it was flooded and hundreds of people were stranded there overnight. Air New Zealand said on Saturday that domestic flights would resume in the afternoon, but it was not yet clear when international flights could resume.
The canceled party
The rainy weather also forced Elton John to cancel two planned concerts in Auckland this weekend.
The decision to cancel the concert, which was to take place on Friday, came when thousands of people were already in the arena. The concert organizer wrote on Twitter that the party was canceled due to bad weather.
“Falls down a lot. Internet fanatic. Proud analyst. Creator. Wannabe music lover. Introvert. Tv aficionado.”
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