At least two dead in New Zealand floods | Abroad

In Auckland, with a population of about 1.6 million, accounting for a third of New Zealand’s total population, 249 millimeters of rain fell on Friday. That is the amount that normally falls in an entire summer. It is not only the wettest day, but also the wettest month in history. New Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who is visiting the affected area, says his “thoughts are with everyone who wakes up in Auckland and has to assess the damage”.

Images show how residents from different parts of the city had to flee from the water, wading through the water up to their waists or using kayaks. Highways around the city have been flooded, supermarkets have flooded and aerial footage shows homes hit by landslides.

The flooded arrivals hall at Auckland airport forced international flights to New Zealand to turn around, including a flight that had been traveling for seven hours from Dubai. The airport will reopen on Saturday afternoon (local time), but only for domestic flights.

Auckland is under a seven-day state of emergency and Mayor Wayne Brown has warned that the cleanup will be a “very, very big job”. “The consequences of the past 24 hours are being felt for a long time,” said the national weather institute MetService.

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