Rain continues to lash flood-ravaged Auckland

WELLINGTON - Rain continued to lash flood-ravaged Auckland on Wednesday February 1 with roads and rail lines shut, houses flooded again and trees blown over in New Zealand's largest city.

Four people lost their lives in flash floods and landslides that hit Auckland on Friday, as a result of record downpours. A state of emergency is in place in Auckland and Northland, the country's northernmost region.

Weather forecaster Metservice had forecast heavy rains for the city and surrounding areas overnight into Wednesday morning, raising fears of significant flooding.

The rains had not been as heavy as feared, according to regional manager Ron Devlin of Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

He said we had a quiet night - very high winds. The weather didn't reach the point predicted, which is a great thing. Many roads across the city, including parts of the city's motorway system, are still flooded, a number of rail networks are not operating, houses have been flooded again and significant landslides pose risks to houses.

Early childcare centres are now allowed to open, but schools in the area are closed until February 7.

Metservice said the heaviest rains have now passed through Northland and Auckland, although Auckland remains at risk of a heavy shower or two on Wednesday morning.

Heavy rain warnings are in place for the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty regions southeast of Auckland.

Rachel Kelleher, Auckland Emergency Management Deputy Controller, said that trees were falling over due to wet ground.