Three people killed in ‘near-apocalyptic’ floods that paralysed New Zealand

Three people have died in near-apocalyptic floods that paralysed Auckland after the city was deluged with almost a summer’s worth of rain in less than a day.

Authorities declared a state of emergency after up to 400mm fell in some places on Friday, turning roads into raging rivers that trapped cars and buses and inundating Auckland airport leaving planes stranded on the tarmac.

About 200 passengers who had boarded a Qantas plane bound for Sydney were forced to sleep on the stationary plane overnight while waiting for the waters to recede.

Police found one man’s body in a flooded culvert and another in a flooded carpark. Fire and emergency crews found a third body after a landslide brought down a house in the suburb of Remuera.

Another person was missing in the floodwaters.

The nation’s new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, pictured, who was only sworn in on Wednesday, flew to Auckland on a military plane to assess the damage.

Mr Hipkins said the rain had hit the city fast and the city was in for a big clean-up.

“This is an unprecedented event in recent memory,” he said. “Our priority is to ensure that Aucklanders are safe, that they’re housed and that they have access to the essential services that they need.”

Friday was the wettest day ever recorded in Auckland, according to weather agencies. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research said the city had received almost 80 per cent of its its average summer rainfall, 166mm, in just 15 hours.

Website WeatherWatch said the “unprecedented deluge” had produced falls of nearly 400mm in some locations.

Greens MP Ricardo Menendez March posted a video of water surging into houses. “We’ve just had to evacuate our home as the water was already rising rapidly and coming in aggressively,” he tweeted.

Video posted to TikTok showed people wading through knee-high water in a supermarket. One girl was being pushed on what looked like a barbecue.

Another shopper looked at the meat aisle as a bin floated past.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand said crews had responded to more than 700 incidents across the region and staff had taken more than 2000 emergency calls.

Tens of thousands of homes were blacked out.

“We had every available career and volunteer crew on the road responding to the most serious events,” district manager Brad Mosby said.

Mr Mosby said crews had rescued 126 people who were trapped in houses or cars, or who had been involved in vehicle crashes.

Auckland Airport reported a record 249mm of rain in 24 hours.

Air New Zealand resumed domestic flights in and out of Auckland on Saturday afternoon but wasn’t yet sure when international flights would resume.

In a series of updates on Twitter, Auckland Airport said people were able to leave the airport early Saturday for their homes or accommodation after hundreds spent the night in the terminal.

“It’s been a long and challenging night at Auckland Airport, we thank everyone for ongoing patience,” the airport wrote. “Unfortunately, due to earlier flooding in the baggage hall, we are currently unable to return checked luggage to you. Your airline will make arrangements for its return at a later time.”

The storm also caused an Elton John concert on his farewell tour to be cancelled just before it was due to start Friday night. His Saturday night concert at the stadium was also cancelled. A second concert by John that was planned at the stadium on Saturday night was also cancelled.

Concertgoers who had braved the conditions were frustrated the decision hadn’t been made hours earlier.