Rain pounds New Zealand’s largest city, 2 dead

Wellington, The Gulf Observer: Police said Saturday that two people had died and two more were missing as record levels of rainfall pounded New Zealand’s largest city, causing widespread disruption.

Authorities declared a state of emergency for the Auckland region and the nation’s new Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, flew to the city on a military plane to assess the damage. Hipkins was sworn in to the top job on Wednesday after Jacinda Ardern resigned.

Hipkins said the rain had hit the city fast. “Aucklanders need to brace for the fact there could be more rain,” he said.

Earlier, hundreds of people were stranded at Auckland Airport overnight after the airport stopped all flights and parts of the terminal were flooded.

Friday was the wettest day ever recorded in Auckland, according to weather agencies, as the amount of rain that would typically fall over the entire summer hit in a single day. On Friday evening, more than 15 centimeters (6 inches) of rain fell in just three hours in some places.

Police said they found one man’s body Friday evening in a flooded culvert and another man’s body early Saturday in a flooded car park, and they were continuing to investigate both deaths.

Police said a third man had been reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters while a fourth person remained unaccounted for after a landslide brought down a house in the suburb of Remuera.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told Radio New Zealand, “We need the rain to stop. That’s the main issue.”