KABUL (Pajhwok): New Zealand has declared a state of emergency in the capital, Wellington, as torrential rain and flash floods battered the country’s North Island, the BBC reported on Monday.
Footage circulating online shows vehicles submerged, trees uprooted, and houses damaged by landslides.
Wellington recorded 77mm (3 inches) of rain in less than an hour on Monday, Mayor Andrew Little said.
Local authorities have advised residents to stay indoors, with further heavy rain forecast over the next 36 hours. Several flights at Wellington Airport have been cancelled, and a number of schools have closed their campuses.
More than a dozen people have been evacuated, while a 60-year-old man has been reported missing in the Karori suburb. No fatalities have been confirmed so far.
The flash floods come less than a week after Cyclone Vaianu swept across the North Island last weekend.
In the suburb of Kingston, a resident told Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that he attempted to escape on the back of his neighbour’s motorbike after a landslide buried a nearby road in the early hours of Monday.
Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell said authorities were expecting the “worst of the weather” later on Monday evening.
“If you are in the Wellington region, be prepared,” he said in a Facebook post. “If you need to evacuate, make those decisions early and stay updated with official information.”
PAN Monitor/sa
