State of emergency declared in New Zealand's capital due to flooding

New Zealand's capital, Wellington, has been hit by flash floods after torrential rains inundated the city center, causing landslides and evacuations, UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg.

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A state of emergency was declared in the region on Monday afternoon local time, and the MetService weather agency raised its severe weather warning to red, the highest level, indicating a life-threatening risk from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding, and landslides. Police said one man was missing from his flood-damaged home in Wellington.

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little said that 77 mm of rain fell in just one hour early Monday morning.

"That's almost three times the largest amount of rainfall in Wellington, which was about two years ago," Little told Radio New Zealand. "These were extremely heavy rains."

Although rain was forecast, Little stated that there were no warnings about its intensity.

The deluge followed a weekend of severe weather in the capital, which caused flooding and evacuations in suburbs around the city center and caught many people off guard. However, the country had been on high alert the previous weekend when Cyclone Vainau swept across the North Island but caused minor damage.

"Despite all efforts, there isn't always time to issue official warnings, and floods can be very localized, making it difficult to predict exactly where they will occur," said Lauren Winnell, a senior lecturer in emergency management at Massey University.

The heavy rain warning is in effect until Tuesday evening.