Water has gushed down Queen St in Auckland’s city centre after an underground water main is believed to have burst.
A witness told the Herald there was an enormous amount of water “leaping from the ground” that begun before 5pm today.
A video sent to the Herald shows the rupture outside the Queens Court Shopping Centre on the corner of Wakefield St near the Town Hall.
Images show the road has actually cracked and ruptured in places near where the water is coming from.
“It’s lots of water. There’s a mound in the road that the water has created and the quantity of water pouring from it is more than you’d see in a decent downpour,” the witness said.
“There are workers further up the road but the water is leaping from the road below where they are working.
“You could walk across it probably but it’s more than rain could do. It wasn’t just coming from the gutters it also seems to have been coming through a hole in the road that it had raised. It was certainly notable”.
Police said they received a couple of reports around 5pm today regarding water on the road outside the Town Hall, but that it didn’t require any action from them.
As of 7pm cars and buses are still driving up the section of Queen St to the left of the Town Hall. Road workers eventually showed up and have blocked off one side of Queen St.
Watercare said on their website that a burst main has been reported along Queen Street at 5pm, Auckland Central: “Watercare technicians are on their way to rectify the issue. Nearby properties may experience low to no water pressure until the fault is repaired. We will update this message with a more accurate restoration time once available.”
One person said she was waiting at the intersection outside Aotea Square when she heard a small rumble followed by a loud bang.
“I just saw the water go straight up in the air to about the height of the Queens Food Court sign,” she said.
“The road crumbled beneath a bus and a car.”
She said the crack has started to move down Queen St.
“It is starting to crumble a bit more now. The water is still excessively going down Queen St and I believe is pooling near Farmers.”
“The way the road moves up and down is like quicksand.”
Another witness told the Herald, it wasn’t sewage.
“There is no smell or brown water, it’s just water.”
MORE TO COME
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Motorists are being warned to expect hazardous driving conditions.