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The death toll in New Zealand continues to rise due to the "extreme" flooding hitting Auckland.
Three people have died – two in Wairau Valley on Auckland's North Shore and one in Remuera – in separate incidents and as the flood emergency continues.
Authorities warn that number could rise with at least one person missing in floodwaters, and more bad weather on the way.
READ MORE: State of emergency declared in Auckland over widespread flooding
The super city recorded its wettest days ever after more than 150mm of rain fell in just three hours on Friday, with further falls today.
The sudden and widespread flooding lead to a state of emergency declaration and saw the city's International Airport remain closed all of Saturday.
Exhausted travellers stuck at Auckland Airport face another night with nowhere to go, as the timeline for resuming international flights is repeatedly delayed.
"We know this is extremely frustrating but the safety of passengers is our top priority," Auckland Airport said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.
While the domestic airport had re-opened for travel on Saturday, international passenger departures will resume around 5am tomorrow (3am Sunday AEDT) and international arrivals from 7am (5am AEDT).
Countless people have been displaced by catastrophic flooding but the worst might not be over yet.
MetService in New Zealand have issued fresh storm warnings, valid from 9.30pm (7.30pm AEDT) on Saturday to 9.00am (7am AEDT) on Sunday.
The Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua and Taupō have been placed under a severe thunderstorm watch as the storm travels south.
MetService are predicting that some thunderstorms may become severe, producing localised downpours with intensities of 25 to 40 mm per hour.
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The Elton John concert at Mt Smart on Saturday night was also cancelled, as was Friday night's, which had been deemed "too dangerous".
New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins departed Wellington for Auckland on a military plane on Saturday morning, to visit the city following its state of emergency declaration.
"Our priority is to ensure that Aucklanders are safe, that they're housed and that they have access to the essential services that they need," Hipkins said.
He said the city was in for a big cleanup and that people should remain indoors if possible. He said a break in the weather could prove temporary, with more heavy rain forecast.
"This is an unprecedented event in recent memory," Hipkins said.
Hipkins said power had been restored to most places, although about 3,500 homes remained without electricity.
Video posted online showed chest-deep water in some places.
Flood deaths
Police said they found one man's body in a flooded culvert and another in a flooded carpark on Friday night.
They said fire and emergency crews found a third body after a landslide brought down a house in the suburb of Remuera.
One person remains missing after being swept away by floodwaters in Onewhero, police said.
Residents inundated
Last night local residents of Aliford Avenue, One Tree Hill, pushed a number of cars that were swamped by floodwaters.
These were Elton John concert goers who parked and walked only to return when the concert was cancelled to find their cars swamped and unable to start Louise Nicholls said in an email to Stuff on Saturday.
A container on Auckland's North Shore was shifted metres away from its original location after flooding on Friday night.
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Sam Paumolevuka lives in a flat on Sunnynook Road and said it was his landlord's container that had been shifted due to the severe weather.
Kevin Webb and Jay Saussey lives on Mount Eden Road in Auckland where flooding came up to chest level in their home.
"I was in panic mode, and then just tried to get out of the water that was rising so quickly."
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Wet weather continues
The rain is set to continue for the whole of next week but forecasters are predicting the heaviest falls will be further south.
The upper North Island has been battered by heavy rain and flooding since Friday night, and the rain looks set to continue on Sunday, as states of emergency remain in effect for Auckland and the Waitomo district.
Throughout Auckland and Great Barrier Island, showers are likely throughout Sunday, with heavy periods of rain possible into Monday. Thunderstorms are also possible.
In Waitomo, which declared a state of emergency on Saturday night as it experienced widespread flooding and heavy rain, the wet weather is also continuing on Sunday.
The rain will be heavy at times, with a risk of thunderstorms, MetService says. Flooding in the North Island has caused widespread destruction and displacement.
Meanwhile, hundreds of travellers are facing another night inside Auckland Airport due to weather-related delays.
https://twitter.com/MetService/status/1618979769453871106?s=20&t=XPldKFQTCE30ac8JHZlHoA
The Auckland Airport weather station recorded the wettest 24 hours on record Friday into Saturday morning and its wettest January on record.
The wettest January was in 1986 with 20cm and the wettest month ever July 1998 30cm. This January has hit 32cm so far.
Auckland Airport
Auckland International Airport had significant flooding after the heavy rain on Friday, which grounded all planes and travellers, who had to spend the night at the airport.
More than 200 passengers due to fly to Sydney at 6.15pm on Friday were kept on a plane overnight, as they had already boarded when the flight was cancelled.
Air NZ has diverted 12 international flights after Auckland Airport closed yesterday afternoon due to significant flooding, with thousands left stranded.
Sydney man Mark Andrews was due to fly home at 6.15pm on Friday, however the flight was cancelled after passengers had already boarded the plane.
The more than 200 passengers were kept on the plane until 1.45am and were treated as if they were flying anyway, with crew providing meals and turning the lights off so people could sleep.
Those in business class were treated to champagne.
Only half of the plane's toilets were working, Andrews said. "They (the crew) were worried about that," he said.
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He added that the crew on the plane were great and the vibes on the plane were good, with passengers chatting to one another and sharing charging cables.
The passengers were let back into the airport at 1.45am as the plane was running out of water.
Inside the airport it was like "zombieland", Andrews said, with about 1000 displaced people walking around or sleeping on the floor.
No one could leave as the downstairs terminals were flooded.
Blankets that were promised to passengers were not handed out until 5am.
"A lot of people were cold," Andrews said.
Flights turned around
An Emirates flight to New Zealand has turned around midway through its journey as the torrential rain which hit Auckland forced the closure of the airport.
Flight EK448 had departed Dubai just before 11am on Friday (local time) and was halfway through its 15-and-a-half-hour journey before the decision was made to head back to the United Arab Emirates.
The airport's closure came hours after a landing plane hit and damaged several runway lights, causing major delays to flights.
The Emirates A380 wasn't the only long-haul flight which had to turn around on Friday.
An American Airlines service from Dallas Fort Worth to Auckland had to return to Texas after a 10-hour flight to nowhere.
Emergency response
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said crews had responded to more than 700 incidents across the region and staff had taken more than 2,000 emergency calls.
"We had every available career and volunteer crew on the road responding to the most serious events," said district manager Brad Mosby.
Mosby said crews had rescued 126 people who were trapped in houses or cars, or who had been involved in vehicle crashes.
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Source: 9News
