Ex-cyclone Tam has sting in the tail for Auckland
Saturday, 19 April 2025
Severe thunderstorms in the wake of ex-tropical Cyclone Tam have caused flooding across the Auckland region.
MetService meterologist Alain Baillie told Radio New Zealand 26.5 millimetres of rain was recorded at Mahurangi, in northern Auckland, between 10pm and 11pm.
About 21 millimetres was recorded at Whenuapai Airport in the hour leading to midnight, he said.
Auckland Civil Defence opened an evacuation centre in Three Kings for affected residents.
It is at Fickling Convention Centre at 546 Mt Albert Road, Three Kings.
'If you need to leave your home due to flooding, and are unable to shelter with friends or family, please carefully make your way to this centre,' Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) said in a statement.
The statement said the centre will offer basic shelter and support for those displaced by this weather event, but people are asked to bring:
Essential items like medication and baby needs
Warm clothing and footwear
Food for any special dietary requirements.
Fire and Emergency NZ responded to 175 calls in the Auckland area during the overnight thunderstorms.
Some of those calls - from 10pm to about 4am - were for flooding, and some were for false alarms set off by the weather, an Auckland Council spokesperson said.
The council contact centre received 84 calls, about half related to stormwater, and others for things such as trees and road flooding.
It wasn't known early Saturday how many houses were affected.
Auckland Emergency Management general manager Adam Maggs said there had been a few reports of water coming up over the floor of dwellings.
During the heavy rain there was considerable flooding on roads in the Onehunga, Mt Roskill and Sandringham area.
The high intenstity thunderstorm rolled across the city from about midnight to 4am, Maggs said.
'Effectively the thunderstorms trained, which means they basically followed each other across the Auckland metro area, pretty much in line with Mt Wellington and Sandringham.'
By about 7am Saturday that had tapered off to virtually nothing.
At that point there had been no visitors to the evacuation centre opened in the Fickling Convention Centre.
Perhaps that indicated there had been less damaged than feared, Maggs said.