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State of emergency declared in Auckland, hit by torrential rains – Airport flooded and closed

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Auckland Airport, where water was ankle high in some terminals, has announced it will remain closed until Saturday noon

Serious rains made the streets of Auckland impassable. A state of emergency was declared on Friday in New Zealand’s most populous city hit by major flooding.

Auckland Airport, the country’s largest, where water was ankle-high in some terminals, announced it would remain closed until Saturday noon. Out of concern for public safety, a concert by British pop star Elton John, scheduled at an Auckland stadium, has been cancelled.

Flights into Auckland have been delayed or cancelled due to the wild weather, while footage on ABC television shows areas of the airport terminal completely flooded.

Auckland Airport terminals and roading are currently impacted by widespread flooding,” the airport said on Twitter. “We are requesting people do not travel to the international terminal at this time.”

An Emirates A380 from Dubai to Auckland made a U-turn and returned to base to land after a 13-hour flight to nowhere.

In a separate tweet, Auckland Airport said runway operations had been reduced after runway lighting was damaged by a landing aircraft.

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