Auckland flood update from Auckland emergency management
Thunderstorm warnings issued for Auckland tonight have been downgraded and the city appears to have escaped more weather carnage after a record rainfall caused devastating floods.
Earlier, authorities warned of impending thunderstorms across Auckland which could drop masses of water on parts of the city ahead of more widespread and intense rain this evening.
MetService tonight downgraded the warnings to watches. But authorities warn that even small amounts of rain can cause slips and flooding.
Earlier today, the city’s flood response group, Auckland Emergency Management, said people should prepare for more localised flooding and the potential for further landslips.
This afternoon, severe thunderstorm watch was issued for Auckland, Coromandel and Waikato. An orange heavy rain warning is in place for the western half of Bay of Plenty until 8am tomorrow.
The Auckland weather warnings have now been reduced to heavy rain watches in the eastern areas of Auckland except for the Hunua Ranges.
Emergency services were called to a slip on State Highway 33 at around 8.20pm this evening between Tauranga and Rotorua.
The large slip and tree are now blocking the road near Okere Falls, Rotorua. The job has been referred to the Transport Operation Centre to be cleared.
In Auckland, a slip closed Ngapipi Rd in Orakei - northbound between Tamaki Dr and Paritai Dr, and southbound between Tamaki Dr and Ngaiwi St.
NGAPIPI RD, - 8:50PM Due to a slip, Ngapipi Rd is closed northbound between Tamaki Dr and Paritai Dr, and southbound between Tamaki Dr and Ngaiwi St. Please follow directions of emergency services. ^CO pic.twitter.com/U9JoEKfqe4
— Auckland Transport Travel Alerts (@AT_TravelAlerts) February 2, 2023
🌧 Heavy rain arriving in Tauranga
🟠 An Orange Heavy Rain Warning is in place for the western half of Bay of Plenty until 8am tomorrow
“Today and tomorrow brings us perfect thunderstorm weather. Our advice is to keep an eye on the rain radar on MetService’s website,” AEM said earlier today.
Strong winds were buffeting Auckland this evening, with wind speeds reaching 65km/h in parts of the city at 5pm.
MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said those speeds were half the threshold to issue a strong wind watch.
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t quite windy - it’s one of the more windy days we’ve seen in terms of average,” Corrigan said.
“There are definitely noticeable winds but nothing too severe.”
Corrigan said the thunderstorms barreling into Auckland and the rain expected tonight was a bigger risk, with the 40mm of rain that could fall likely to cause flash flooding.
“That’s a large amount of rain to fall in a small amount of time. We could see more severe impacts in any place where that does occur.
“At the moment we’re seeing showery weather, some heavy ones in parts, but it’s mostly dry at the moment,” Corrigan said.
At the 3pm Auckland Emergency Management update, MetService said 99 out of 100 Aucklanders will not see thunderstorms today but due to ground conditions any downpour could create issues.
— MetService Severe Weather Info (@MetServiceWARN) February 1, 2023
Civil Defence warned there is a high risk of more landslips across the region.
There are 95 teams out assessing homes today and to date there have been 195 red stickers issued, 971 yellow stickers issued and 1807 white stickers issued.
Anyone who needs a building assessed can call 0800 222200 to request one.
At the update, Auckland Council building services manager Ian McCormick said his team had been “really impressed” by the resilience of Auckland and encouraged people to reach out if they needed support.
He also advised they were notifying under The Building Act so they can continue to use powers under the act for a 12-month period.
Auckland Transport’s Stacey van der Putten said so far approximately 1500 flood-damaged cars have been towed across the city.
Niwa has described the torrential downpour in Auckland as a 1-in-200-year event.
January was New Zealand’s biggest city’s wettest month, with more than half a metre of rainfall in central Auckland alone.
Over a half metre of rain fell in central Auckland in January 2023.
Work has begun to fully assess the work needed to restore the “vital transport link” after it collapsed following the recent heavy rain.
First opportunity to visit the slip site on SH25A. It’s far bigger than it was yesterday and is still moving. The scale of repair job is going to be enormous. More to come…
New Zealand’s monarch, King Charles III, has sent his “deepest condolences” to New Zealand following the deadly floods. He mentioned Auckland’s clean-up efforts after the flood that has so far killed four people.
In the King’s message, he said he has “long admired the strength and resourcefulness of New Zealanders”.
Public transport across Auckland continues to be compromised as work begins across the region to clean up damage from Friday’s and yesterday’s weather.
Rail services are running on reduced timetables with bus rail replacement services operating between Britomart and Newmarket and the Onehunga Line and Southern Line between Ōtāhuhu and Newmarket. Bus services are operating on all routes with extended journey times due to detours as a result of road closures.
Auckland Emergency Management said it will be a few days until water issues across the region are fixed.
“Please remember to treat all floodwater as contaminated, wear protective clothing and wash hands thoroughly after clean-up and before handling food.”
All beaches in the Auckland region are seen as unsafe for swimming due to contaminated floodwaters, Auckland Emergency Management said.
Meanwhile more than 200 lifts are not working across Auckland city and people, including elderly residents, are stuck and isolated at the top of apartment buildings, says Mayor Wayne Brown.
Emergency Management did not realise it was an issue and the incident started to be addressed yesterday, he said. “I’ve known about it for a while,” Brown told AM this morning.
“Yesterday I brought it to their attention and it’s to their attention now. I knew one day before but I didn’t know how widespread it was. Right at the moment there are people really in trouble and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Brown said those in emergency care were people whose houses had been washed out, or affected by slips. Communities were looking after those who were stuck due to lifts not operating.
Asked why he had agreed to do a media interview this morning, Brown said: “It’s the first time there’s been a break in the weather to do this.”
At an emergency briefing this morning, officials said that if people were stuck in high-rise buildings, they were encouraged to reach out for help.
30 roads remain closed
Meanwhile, more than 30 roads in the Auckland region remain closed today due to damage, Auckland Emergency Management announced at the briefing. And it says all beaches in the region are unsafe for swimming due to contaminated floodwaters.
Tāmaki Drive is one of the many roads still affected by slips and motorists are being told to “travel with care”. More than 550 staff are on the ground dealing with road maintenance, working to clear and open roads.
Crews were still aware of potential risks associated with flooding over the past few days, Fire and Emergency NZ regional boss Ron Devlin said.
Director of Emergency Management for the National Civil Defence Roger Ball urged people to keep an eye on weather updates. Emergency officials were continuing to work with government agencies helping people affected by floods.
As of last night, there are 99 people in evacuation sites around Auckland. However, many families or people affected were organising their own accommodation, authorities said.
Close to 200 buildings or properties had been issued a red placard and close to 800 properties were issued with yellow stickers.
People cleaning out their homes affected by floodwaters are being reminded to wash their hands regularly and to treat all items they handle as contaminated. Produce or items that have come into contact with floodwaters should be thrown out.
There still remains a high number of landslips across Auckland despite the rain having stopped. All beaches across Auckland are unsafe to swim in due to flood contamination.
Rescuers have described the moment they found an elderly couple miraculously alive - but seriously injured - after a massive cliff landslide engulfed an Auckland beach house, destroying it in seconds.
The elderly woman was buried in the “massive landslide” for more than two hours and two others were injured after a house was “totally demolished” by mud and rock at Manukau Heads.
“The elderly lady, she was trapped in the rubble and was trapped for quite some time but there were some beams and parts of the structure that were protecting her in a way as well from further injury ... she was stuck I think from her legs,” said Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter critical flight paramedic Marcel Driessen. “There was a chap that was just covered and cut, some bruises and was pretty pale and it looked like he’d been through the wringer.”
He said the house “got crunched to the ground” after the pair and another person in the house heard a rumble that shook the foundations.
Dramatic aerial photos showed the utter destruction of the house near Orua Bay Beach.
“When you got to the scene you could see a massive landslide,” Driessen said. “With this house... just rubble on the bottom, that was a house once and in between all the other houses and it was just totally demolished.”
The Orua Bay house was reduced to rubble after a landslide tore through it. Photo / Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopters
The slip was dozens that followed a second major deluge that hit Auckland yesterday, causing further damage to homes, streets and residents’ already frayed nerves. Last night, MetService issued a fresh heavy rain watch for part of Auckland - mainly the easter edges of the region - Coromandel, Bay of Plenty including Rotorua, Nelson and Fiordland.
Four people died after last Friday’s major deluge - at Orua Bay Beach yesterday, though, it was a tale of survival. As Driessen and the Westpac chopper arrived, two patients, the elderly man and a woman, were sitting to the side of the carnage with cuts and bruises while the elderly woman lay trapped inside.
As firefighters and an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) crew fought to free the elderly woman, Driessen and his crew transported the seriously injured man via a ute to the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter to be flown to hospital.
Another in a minor condition was being taken there by ambulance, while the elderly woman was also taken by helicopter after she was freed.
Auckland International Airport also assisted in the rescue, sending in a hovercraft with four additional USAR personnel. A geo-technician and structural engineer attended, the Fenz spokesperson said, to assess the risk to other buildings, which resulted in five other houses being evacuated as a precaution.
Three people are injured after a building collapsed in Orua Bay Beach at Manukau Heads. Photo / Michael Craig
Tamaki Drive in Auckland’s east is unlikely to open to motorists for a couple of days after slips blocked the road yesterday. It’s also not yet clear when alternate Ngapipi Rd will be cleared after a tree toppled over the road.
Workers are clearing a large slip on Tamaki Drive between Okahu Bay and Mission Bay. Photo / Dean Purcell
The scene from the collapsed building in Orua Bay Beach at Manukau Heads after the landslide. Photo / Michael Craig
