New Zealand declares state of emergency in Wellington as torrential rain causes flash flooding
Wellington saw its heaviest rainfall on record.
New Zealand has declared a state of emergency in its capital city, Wellington, as torrential rain and flash flooding drenched the country's North Island.
Listen to this article
Residents in low-lying areas of the city were urged to evacuate on Monday, as heavy rain continued to drench the city.
Wellington Mayor Andrew Little said that the city had received 77 mm (3 inches) of rain in less than an hour, marking its heaviest rainfall on record.
Some flights at Wellington Airport were cancelled, and several schools shut their campuses.
Read more: Tsunami warning as 7.4 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Japan
Read more: Man kills seven of his children, and an eighth child, in Louisiana mass shooting
New Zealand has faced heavy rain in the past few days.
The Wellington region was hit by severe weather that caused flood damage overnight on Friday.
Much of the northern part of the North Island was impacted by Cyclone Vaianu a week ago.
"The wild weather continues. We've had flooding, slips and evacuations... The flooding has been strong enough to move cars, and many manhole covers have been lifted," Mayor Little said in a video.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand has activated its regional coordination centre, ramping up the response.