Storm downs huge New Zealand flag at Auckland Airport

Name: Auckland recovering from a battering after massive storm
Uploaded: 2018-04-11T08:17:34+12:00
Duration: 73 s
Description: The heavy winds in Tuesday night's storm pulled trees down onto cars and homes, with 100,000 homes and businesses losing power.

By Anne Gibson

Property Editor·NZ Herald·

10 Apr, 2018 10:26 PMQuick Read

The heavy winds in Tuesday night's storm pulled trees down onto cars and homes, with 100,000 homes and businesses losing power.

This week's storm was so strong that it downed a king pin - the flag on New Zealand's tallest flagpole.

An Auckland Airport spokeswoman said the flag at the airport at Mangere was brought down during the storm but the airport's focus had not been on rectifying that immediately.

The huge flag at Auckland Airport. Photo/Natalie Slade

"It's down due to the storm damage. Our focus is very much on assisting passengers experiencing delays," she said on Wednesday.

The huge flag usually flies atop the 45m flagpole, the tallest in New Zealand and at around 14m by 7m, it is a landmark visible from as far away as One Tree Hill.

What state the flag is in now is unknown. But reports to the Herald said the ropes on the pole were flying around in the storm.

The icon is on the corner of George Bolt Memorial Dr and Tom Pearce Dr and is a welcome sign for passengers returning to New Zealand.

The flag is sometimes flown at half-mast to mark special occasions such as the Canterbury earthquakes.