Auckland floods: 20 cop cars inundated, plus part of a police station

Even the long arm of the law could not escape Auckland’s devastating floods.

The rising tide breached the thin blue line at the Mt Roskill police station amid Friday’s unprecedented deluge when three Januaries worth of rain fell in the space of four hours.

Superintendent Grant Tetzlaff, the relieving Auckland City District commander, said the Stoddard Rd station was among a small number of police buildings affected in the Auckland City District.

“Lower levels of the site were impacted by floodwaters, along with 20 vehicles parked at the time,” he said.

Those vehicles were under assessment and interim replacement measures were in place, Tetzlaff said.

“Remedial work will also be undertaken at the station, and flooding debris has been cleared.”

Police were part of a rescue of 30 rest home residents in Pukekohe on Friday. Photo / Supplied

The Auckland City police base in College Hill had flooding in its lower-level car parking, but no significant damage was reported there, he said.

“Policing operations are continuing as usual from both locations.”

Auckland police have been flat out since Friday, with thousands of calls for help.

Officers have also been tasked with patrolling areas with abandoned houses to prevent looting.

The city’s courts have not escaped unscathed.

The Auckland District Court in Albert St is closed until at least the end of the week due to flood damage, Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann said in a statement.

The Mt Roskill police station and some patrol cars parked there were hit by the floods on Friday. Photo / NZME

People arrested over the long weekend were on Tuesday having their first appearances in the North Shore District Court.

The work of all the city’s district courts - Auckland, Waitakere, North Shore, Manukau, Papakura and Pukekohe - is to be rescheduled “to ensure the highest priority cases across the region can be heard”, Justice Winkelmann said.

“Defendants in custody are prioritised and their cases will be heard on the day they are scheduled to appear wherever possible.”

The Auckland High Court was running as usual on Tuesday, as were specialist courts, including the Employment and Environment courts.