Some vulnerable residents have been evacuated, while there is widespread flooding on Auckland’s motorways and roads.
The new Minister for Auckland Michael Wood says volunteers have been out in his Mt Roskill electorate helping to evacuate vulnerable residents.
Aucklanders have endured heavy and persistent rain since after midnight. It intensified after 5am.
As dawn breaks, surface flooding and water pooling is evident in some places.
There are deep pools in dips in roads around Sandringham, St Lukes and near Eden Park and flooding in Onehunga. Dominion Road at the intersection with Peary Road has surface flooding.
Waka Kotahi says numerous sections of Auckland’s motorways are flooded due to significant rainfall, with some sections unpassable.
It asks people to delay travel if a motorway on their route is affected, and check the agency’s online traffic map for details.
Auckland north of Orewa remains under a red heavy rain warning as the most severe weather moved on from Northland in the early hours of the morning.
MetService forecaster John Crouch said about 20-30mm an hour of ‘intense rainfall’ had fallen in Auckland city early this morning, but the rain band was moving south a bit faster than thought earlier.
MetService says the bulk of the heavy rain has moved into Auckland and Coromandel with the latter warned to expect 100 to 150mm of rain about the ranges, with lesser amounts about the coast.
The red heavy rain warning, severe thunderstorm watch, and the strong wind watch all ended for Northland at 4am.
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