Auckland prepares for more heavy rain 

New Zealanders are bracing for more heavy rains this week, following the worst downpour on record that’s flooded the country. 

Severe weather alerts remain. 

At least four people have died and a state of emergency order continues in Auckland, which on Friday experienced its worst downpour on record. 

The newly-appointed prime minister Chris Hipkins said about 350 people needed emergency accommodation.

He added there had been significant damage across Auckland and the north island. He also highlighted climate change’s role in extreme weather event. 

“It’s a 1-in-100-year weather event, and we seem to be getting a lot of them at the moment. I think people can see that there’s a message in that…Climate change is real, it’s with us,” Mr Hipkins said on Monday.

He told national broadcaster TVNZ: “We are going to have to deal with more of these extreme weather events in the future.

“We need to be prepared for that. And we need to do everything we can to combat the challenge of climate change,” he added.

Severe weather alerts remain in place, the unprecedented rainfall on Friday means even “ordinary” torrential rain in the days ahead could cause more flooding and damage than it would usually, the city’s mayor said. 

“In parts of the city, the weather looks a bit better – but, don’t be fooled, our region is not out of the woods yet,” Wayne Brown said.

PM Hipkins also acknowledged criticism around communications over the floods, with locals disappointed it had been “too few and far between.”