Hopkins said in a press conference after inspecting the affected areas that the floods had killed “three people, while one person is still missing.” “The extent of damage in some areas is significant,” he added.
He explained that Auckland witnessed these days “the most heavy rain in its history,” speaking on Friday.
Police found the bodies of two men in the northern suburbs of the city, while a third died in floods that swept away a house near the city center. A fourth is missing in Seoul, south of Auckland.
The weather caused the temporary closure of the city’s airport, the country’s largest. The water level in some of its buildings reached ankle level.
The airport has reopened to domestic flights, and international flights are not expected to resume until Sunday.
The waters had largely receded on Saturday afternoon after turning streets into rivers the day before, but the forecaster predicted more rain and Hopkins urged people to stay indoors.
This is the first major event in the government of Hopkins, who was sworn in Wednesday after Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation.
The prime minister wrote on Twitter that government departments were “working very hard” to help the city and coordinate relief efforts.
Police also urged people to contact emergency services only when they were in “life-threatening” danger.
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