On January 27th, heavy rains hit Auckland and Northland. A summer's worth of rain fell in a single day.
Many areas were flooded, and the water reached chest height. The damage caused by the heavy rain was enormous, with four people killed and many buses and cars washed away. Auckland Airport, the gateway to New Zealand, was also temporarily closed (it has now been reopened).
In addition, as far as we know, due to the effects of the flooding, there were around 200 homes that were off-limits. Because it was dangerous, the residents of those homes were not allowed to enter even their own homes. Even in areas where the rain has stopped, there are concerns about the risk of landslides and other disasters.
Oakland Zoo animals evacuated
At Auckland Zoo, staff were closely monitoring the weather and were able to quickly move crocodiles, lizards and New Zealand native reptiles to higher ground before the damage became too severe.
In some places within the park, the water was up to a height of 1.5m.
According to the zoo, many areas remained intact despite the large amount of water that flooded in. However, straw that the animals eat, stored in a low structure, was submerged.
There was also significant damage to the buildings and furniture, and it will take a long time to clean up all areas of the zoo, but the zoo was able to reopen on Saturday, February 4th, except for some areas.
Artworks also on the move
At the Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand's largest art facility, rising groundwater caused water to flood the art storage facility through the walls and floors. The damage was confirmed at 11:00 p.m. After that, 300 pieces of art that were stored there were quickly removed.
Fortunately, a major disaster was averted, and the museum has now resumed operations, except for certain areas, although humidity is a major enemy of art.
A swept away cow stops at the entrance to a KFC store
Cows and other livestock were also heavily affected, being swept away by the water. In the Bay of Plenty area, a cow was swept away and stopped right in front of the entrance to a KFC. The person chasing it was frightened to see the cow floating away, but when he saw it mooing happily, he couldn't help but burst out laughing when he saw where the cow had stopped.
The fences of the ranch where these cows originally lived were destroyed by flood damage, but with help from people in the area, all nine of the cows were able to be rescued safely.
In New Zealand, if a stray livestock enters a home's garden, the homeowner will be responsible for the livestock for 24 hours (after 24 hours the responsibility is transferred to the local government).
Therefore, within 24 hours, people are not allowed to just throw their livestock out onto the road, and are obligated to make sure the livestock are kept safe as much as possible, move them to a nearby ranch if there is one, or contact the local government to find out what to do.
What about damage to wineries?
The full extent of the damage to wineries has not yet been made clear. However, New Zealand is holding an event called New Zealand Wine Week from January 30th to February 7th to promote the New Zealand wine industry.
Man O' War Vineyards on Instagram:
Now Aucklanders need a reason to reopen. Let's all celebrate New Zealand wine together.
He commented,
Click here for Man O' War Vineyards wines
▶︎Man O'War Vineyards
