Auckland floods: With further severe weather alerts, New Zealanders in the flood-stricken nation are preparing for this week’s expected heavy downpours.
Auckland floods, which on Friday saw its heaviest rainstorm on record, is still under a state of emergency and at least four people have perished.
According to Chris Hipkins, the prime minister of New Zealand, 350 individuals required emergency housing.
He continued by saying that Auckland floods and the north island have sustained substantial damage.
The recently appointed PM also emphasised how the extreme weather occurrence was a result of climate change.
“We are currently experiencing a high number of this 1-in-100-year weather occurrence. I believe that there is a message in there that people can see. “Climate change is real, and it affects us right now,” Mr. Hipkins declared on Monday.
We will have to deal with more of these extreme weather events in the future, he said national network TVNZ.
“For that, we must be ready. And we must do every effort to tackle the problem of climate change,” he continued.
Additionally, Mr. Hipkins recognised that many had complained that notifications regarding the floods had been “too few and far between.”
Even “regular” torrential rain in the coming days might produce more flooding and damage than it would typically due to the record rainfall Auckland has had since Friday, the city’s mayor said in a tweet on Monday.
Don’t be fooled, our region is still in trouble, Wayne Brown said. “In parts of the city, the weather appears a bit better.
Flooding is produced by a variety of variables, but a warming climate increases the intensity and frequency of heavy rainfall. Since the start of the industrial age, the world has already warmed by around 1.1C, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments drastically reduce emissions.
The nation’s leading authority on climate science, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, reported that several places in Auckland saw its wettest day ever on Friday.
Videos and pictures posted online showed people stranded in floodwater that was waist deep, rescue workers conducting evacuations from kayaks, and food goods drifting down the aisles of many flooded shops.
Auckland Airport has since reopened after being temporarily shuttered owing to damage from significant flooding.
According to New Zealand media, two people perished in the floodwaters. A 25-year-old arborist named Daniel Newth perished while kayaking close to his North Shore house, while a 34-year-old man named Daniel Mark Miller was discovered dead in a culvert in the Auckland suburb of Wairu Valley.
