New Zealand’s Auckland starts clean-up after deadly flash floods

The authorities in New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland, began clean up operations on Saturday after torrential rains brought flash flooding and evacuations, with at least three people confirmed dead and one still missing.
A state of emergency remained in place in the city of 1.6 million people on New Zealand’s north island as the rains eased after Friday’s flooding in the north, north-west and west, the Straits Times reported.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who has been in office for less than a week, flew over Auckland in a helicopter before vitising flood-hit homes.
“The level of devastation in some areas is considerable,” Hipkins told reporters, describing the event as “unprecedented” in recent memory.
Auckland Emergency Management issued a statement saying: “Auckland was clobbered on Friday – Auckland’s wettest day on record – and today we start the clean-up.”
The local weather forecaster meanwhile warned of possible downpours again on Sunday.
Showers were “dotted around Auckland” with some heavy rain west of the city, Auckland Emergency Management tweeted, while warning residents to “stay safe” amid the emergency.
“We’re not out of this yet. Heavy rain returns tomorrow,” the agency wrote on the social media platform.
Two men were found dead, New Zealand Police said. A search was under way for a man believed swept away, while another person was unaccounted for after a landslide hit a house in an inner Auckland suburb, police said.
More than 2,000 calls for assistance and 70 evacuations were made around the city, the New Zealand Herald reported.The post New Zealand’s Auckland starts clean-up after deadly flash floods first appeared on Ariana News.

Source: Ariana News