International flights to Auckland resume on Sunday, but storms will last until Tuesday

More severe weather is expected, so Auckland residents have been advised to remain inside after the city was ravaged by devastating floods.

Following Friday’s severe rain, the floods have taken three lives: two in the Wairau Valley and one in Remuera.

Authorities acknowledged that the death toll would increase quickly, and the Met Service of New Zealand issued a rain warning for Sunday.

It tweeted on Saturday night, “Our team are following a number for strong thunderstorms to the east of Auckland.”

If the localized thunderstorms are severe, we may issue a red Thunderstorm Warning.

Auckland authorities have recommended citizens to remain at home and limit their travel on Sunday in light of the weather prediction.

Auckland floods: International flights to resume Sunday, residents to stay home, storms ahead

For our communities, these last 24 hours have been tremendously difficult, and recovery will take some time, according to Auckland Emergency Management duty controller Rachel Kelleher.

“We encourage people to remain home if it is safe to do so, keep an eye on the future weather forecasts, and keep themselves safe.”

Kelleher also asked people to avoid needless travel and spend the night at home.

The city’s residents have all been evacuated, and houses and other structures have sustained significant damage.

In only three hours on Friday, more than 150mm of rain fell in Auckland, making it the wettest day ever.

Owing to the unexpected downpour, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown on Friday night proclaimed a state of emergency due to the ‘damage, displacement, and inconvenience’ brought on by the weather.

Due to the flooding, Elton John’s show in the city, which was scheduled to draw roughly 40,000 people, was postponed on Friday.

Long traffic jams on highways are a result of the flooding, which has also blocked major roadways.

The city will continue to have rainy weather for the remainder of the week, although the wettest areas are predicted to be further south.

With forecasted localized rainfall of up to 40mm per hour, the Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, and Taupo are all under a severe thunderstorm watch.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins urged all citizens to remain at home if it was safe to do so.

The PM remarked, according to 1News, “The amounts of destruction in certain locations are substantial.”

Our first goal is making ensuring Aucklanders are secure, have a place to live, and can access the key services they need.

“The death toll highlights simply the enormous scope of this weather catastrophe and how swiftly it became terrible,”

There is no need, Mr. Hipkins said, for Aucklanders to engage in “panic purchasing” with so many supermarkets in the city still operating.

Between Friday morning and 7.30 am Saturday, Fire and Emergency workers responded to 719 weather-related calls, according to Nine News.

These calls included 126 rescues of persons trapped in automobiles or residences, 84 instances classified as “priority one” in which people were in grave danger, and 237 occurrences classified as “priority two” in which people were possibly in danger.

The employees of the Fire and Emergency Communications Center received a total of 2,242 calls.

Hundreds of people seem to have been uprooted from their homes around the city in pictures and video posted online, while the precise number is yet unknown.

Images across Auckland reveal severe damage to houses, automobiles, and important infrastructure with people escaping their inundated homes.

Thankfully, international flights are scheduled to resume Sunday morning, with departures starting at about 5am and arrivals beginning at 7am.

After floodwater flooded check-in facilities and terminals on Friday night, both the domestic and international airports were abruptly shuttered.

On Saturday, domestic flights were once again available.

International passengers who are delayed face spending another night at the flooded airport due to the ongoing delay.

The safety of the passengers is our main concern, Auckland Airport said on Saturday afternoon. “We realize this is tremendously annoying,” it said.

Sydney resident Mark Andrews, who had a 6.15 p.m. flight home, said that roughly 1,000 stranded travelers had resorted to sleeping on the airport floor.

In addition to the flooding, Mr. Andrews said that blankets weren’t distributed until 5 a.m. on Saturday, when customers were unable to leave owing to customer restrictions.

He called the airport a “zomebieland” and said, “A lot of people were freezing.”


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