Weather Auckland

Auckland Emergency Management says the weather across Tāmaki Makaurau is continuing to worsen and residents in flood-prone areas should prepare to evacuate.

It has meant ferries were held in Waitematā Harbour. "On top of all of this, with all this rain which we're now getting to almost a metre so far this year, is that the Thames Coast Road and the road between Coromandel and Whitianga are now under traffic management due to slips that are starting to come down." Waka Kotahi said the road between Kopu and Hikuai was closed until further notice due to "further road movement in wet conditions". Auckland Fire and Emergency said on Friday afternoon that every fire truck in Auckland was responding to emergency calls due to the bad weather and they had had to respond to more than 400 emergency calls today. A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for Auckland and Northland with bands of heavy rain and thunderstorms expected to move across Northland during the day and Auckland north of about Albany until early evening. By mid-afternoon on Friday the Coromandel ranges had already been hit by up to 150mm of rain - the latest deluge of the area's sodden summer. The "very high risk" warning is set to be in place until Sunday morning, when it drops to the red "high risk" alert. It said it was giving priority to people in danger and urges people to call 111 only if life or safety is at risk and the volume of calls was causing delays in answering them. The north, and north west, areas of Auckland have been particularly hit by the weather, police said in a statement. Police warned those travelling out of Auckland for the long weekend they may experience long traffic delays and potential diversions due to road closures. Residents in flood-prone areas of West Auckland are being asked to prepare to evacuate as bad weather causes power cuts and car crashes across Tāmaki Makaurau, with a severe thunderstorm watch in place for the north of the country. Auckland Emergency Management said the severe weather across the city was worsening and it was trying to assess what action was needed.