On Friday, New Zealand’s largest city experienced its “wettest day on record,” with at least three people killed and one missing.
In just 15 hours, Auckland is said to have received 75% of its usual summer rainfall.
Authorities declared a local state of emergency as they dealt with evacuations and widespread flooding.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of New Zealand thanked emergency services for their quick response to the disaster.
The new Prime Minister visited Auckland and expressed his condolences to the families of those who died in the floods.
“The loss of life emphasizes the sheer scale of this weather event and how quickly it turned tragic,” he said at a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
The rain flooded the airport, shifted houses, and caused power outages for hours.
The New Zealand Defence Force was called in to assist with evacuations, and emergency shelters were set up throughout the city.
Ricardo Menendez March, a Green MP and Auckland resident, told the BBC that his neighborhood was quickly flooded, forcing him to evacuate, but he was given shelter by a friend nearby.
“Unfortunately, there were people who were not as fortunate – low-income communities, disabled people, and migrant communities,” he said.
Footage posted online showed people trapped in waist-high floodwater and rescuers evacuating on kayaks. Other images showed groceries floating down the aisles of flooded supermarkets.
International departures from Auckland airport were halted until at least 05:00 local time on Sunday, with no international arrivals arriving before 07:00.
The focus of Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) has shifted from evacuations to clean-up efforts following the rain.
They reminded locals not to travel unless it was necessary and said in a tweet to “not let today’s ‘less rain’ trick you into planning a weekend day out”.