Wild weather: Shock for mother as water floods house in Glendene

Brigitte Price went from an ordinary morning watching kids' soccer to a frantic race to save her Glendene home from flooding during the latest dumping of rain to strike sodden Auckland.

The mum of three lives in Barnfield Pl, where dramatic footage posted online showed water pouring down properties and into the street during today's downpours.

Price lives in a rental on a rear section near the end of the cul-de-sac and watched in shock as water flooded through her lounge and kitchen.

Surrounded by furniture tipped on its side, and piled with belongings, and with carpet squelching underfoot, Price described the moment the water came.

"One minute we were out for soccer then we were home and . . . all hell broke loose. I was frantically moving things and yelling at the kids.

"It was like a tidal wave, it just kept creeping up."

Outside, a neighbour was digging trenches as the rain pelted down, efforts that prevented more serious flooding.

His work added to earlier channels dug the night before, when there were also fears of flooding, Price said.

"It looked like we had a moat."

The landlord was insured, but she was not. Price expected some of her belongings would be lost.

The house, which was built flat on the ground, also flooded last year, but not as seriously.

She left the house in the afternoon to hire a machine to help soak up the water-logged carpet, but none were available.

Even more galling was seeing fine weather follow immediately after the worst.

"It did all this destruction and then the sun came out. It's so unfair."

Zais Alvarez, 13, outside his home in Barnfield Pl, Glendene. The living area and kitchen were flooded. Photo / Cherie Howie

Across the road, Price's neighbour Dillon Craven also described his shock at the sudden deluge.

His basement-level garage, used as a man cave, was inundated with mid-thigh-deep water. The father of three lost about $6000 worth of uninsured tools, as well as underlay he was storing for his work as a carpet-layer.

"It was quite freaky. It took five minutes to fill the garage.

"It was like a wave, like something you see at the beach.