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Auckland residents have been warned to stay home with more dangerous weather on the way after horrific floods devastated the city.
Flooding has claimed three lives, two in the Wairau Valley and one in Remuera, following torrential rain on Friday.
Authorities conceded that the death toll could rise soon and the Met Service of New Zealand’s weather center warned that heavier rain was ahead on Sunday.
“Our team is tracking a number of severe thunderstorms east of Auckland,” he tweeted Saturday night.
“We may issue a red thunderstorm warning for localized areas if they are intense.”
In light of the forecast for Sunday, Auckland officials have urged residents to stay home and minimize travel.
The photos show that hundreds of residents have been displaced throughout the city and the rain will continue until the end of the week (in the photo, residents are flooded)
Aucklanders have been urged to stay home if it is safe to do so with more rain lashing the flood-hit city on Sunday (rain radar for Auckland on Saturday night pictured)
Major roads have been blocked by devastating flooding, causing long traffic queues on motorways (above)
Widespread flooding in Auckland has claimed three lives and authorities warn the number could rise soon (a flooded workplace in Auckland pictured)
“This has been an incredibly challenging 24 hours for our communities and recovery will take some time,” says Rachel Kelleher, Auckland Emergency Management Service Controller.
“We want people to stay safe, be aware of upcoming weather reports, and stay home if it’s safe to do so.”
Kelleher also urged people to stay home overnight and avoid unnecessary travel.
Residents across the city have been evacuated, with extensive damage to homes and buildings.
Auckland recorded its wettest day on Friday with over 150mm of rain falling in just three hours.
The flash deluge prompted Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown to declare a state of emergency on Friday night due to the extent of the “damage, displacement and disruption” caused by the weather.
Elton John’s concert in the city, which was expected to attract some 40,000 people, was canceled on Friday due to flooding.
Main roads have also been blocked by floodwaters, causing long queues of traffic on the roads.
Wet weather is expected to hang over the city for the rest of the week, but the heaviest rain is expected to fall further south.
Three people have died and several are missing as a record amount of rain, wild flooding and mudslides hit Auckland.
Flooding has caused extensive damage to major infrastructure around Auckland (a damaged road is pictured)
The Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Plenty, Rotorua and Taupō have been placed under a severe storm watch with localized downpours of up to 40mm per hour forecast.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins appealed on Saturday to all residents who are safe to stay at home to do so.
“The levels of devastation in some areas are considerable,” the prime minister said. 1News reports.
“Our priority is to ensure Aucklanders are safe, have shelter and have access to the essential services they need.
“The loss of life underscores the scale of this weather event and how quickly it turned tragic.”
Mr Hipkins also told Aucklanders to refrain from “panic buying” with many supermarkets still open in the city, saying “there is no need”.
Travelers stranded at Auckland’s domestic and international airports as floodwaters rise (pictured Friday night)
A state of emergency was declared in Auckland on Friday due to devastating flooding triggered by torrential rains (Pictured, an emergency worker and residents enter through floodwaters in Auckland)
Fire and Emergency crews have responded to 719 weather-related calls between Friday morning and 7:30 a.m. Saturday. nine news reports.
Those calls include 126 rescues of people trapped in cars or homes, 84 “priority one” incidents where people were at high risk, and 237 “priority two” incidents where people were at possible risk.
A total of 2,242 calls were made to the personnel of the Emergency Communications Center and Fire Department.
Photos and images online show hundreds of residents have been displaced around the city, though the actual number has yet to be determined.
The footage shows significant damage to homes, cars and major infrastructure around Auckland with people fleeing their submerged homes.
Fortunately, international flights will resume on Sunday morning with departures leaving around 5am and the airport accepting arrivals from 7am.
Both the international and domestic airports were suddenly shut down Friday night after water flooded check-in areas and terminals.
New Zealand’s weather center weather service said 154mm of rain fell on the airport (above) between 9am and 8pm on Friday; the 12-hour record for the area is 161.8 mm
Auckland Emergency Management Andrew Clark anyone who does not have a safe place to evacuate or who needs assistance in getting to the Civil Defense Center which has been set up in Kelston (pictured flood residents)
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins appealed on Saturday to all residents who are safe to stay at home to do so (pictured, residents on a flooded Auckland street)
International flights will resume on Sunday morning after flooding closed domestic and international airports (in the photo, the airport on Friday night)
Domestic flights began operating again on Saturday.
However, the continued delay means stranded international travelers are facing another night stuck in the flooded airport.
“We know this is extremely frustrating, but passenger safety is our top priority,” Auckland Airport tweeted on Saturday afternoon.
Sydney man Mark Andrews, who was due to fly home at 6:15pm on Friday, said some 1,000 displaced passengers were sleeping on the airport floor.
To make matters worse, Andrews said the blankets weren’t delivered until 5 a.m. Saturday and people weren’t able to leave due to customer regulations in addition to flooding.
“A lot of people were cold,” he told Nine, describing the airport as a “zombie land.”