KEY POINTS:
A burst watermain in Central Auckland has caused massive flooding and forced the evacuation of two buildings - but it's the damage in one particular carpark that everyone is talking about.
Down in the Citibank Centre building carpark a silver Rolls-Royce Phantom, believed to be worth up to
$800,000, is sitting in murky brown floodwaters which at one stage reached two metres deep.
The luxury car is owned by millionaire businessman and Dragon's Den star Barry Colman.
The extent of damage to Colman's car - and the others still in the basement - is not yet known as firefighters are still pumping away floodwaters.
Should it be written off, Colman, who is worth about $130 million, will still have his 100ft Italian motor yacht and a private jet to get about in. Colman is publisher of the National Business Review which is based in the flooded building.
Auckland Deputy Chief Fire Officer Graham Fuller said firefighters were called to reports of flooding at 5am. They arrived to find more than they bargained for.
"It was a hell of a lot bigger and it got progressively worse with every building we went to," he said.
Floodwaters were several metres deep, trapping many cars and causing damage to at least one basement level shop in Queens Arcade. The entire Citibank building - which includes the American Consulate - was evacuated and many street level stores were closed.
Numerous fire appliances and pumps from around the city were called in to help pump away the water and by 9am the floodwaters had receded to about 15cm deep.
Mr Fuller said power had to be shut off for safety measures and at least eight buildings in the Customs, Commerce and Fort St block are still on limited services this morning.
The flooding is believed to have been caused by a burst water main.
Wellington
Wellington police also warned of flooding on SH 2 in the Kennedy Good Bridge traffic lights area, the old Hutt Rd in Thorndon near the Tinakori Rd intersection and at SH 1 at the bottom of the Ngauranga Gorge.
Sergeant Andy Dow said that in Grays Rd near Paekakariki Hill Rd there was flooding covering both lanes.
MetService said this morning the low that brought heavy rain and strong winds to the centre of the country has now moved off to the east.
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty was likely to see some more heavy falls of rain, with a further 30mm likely about the eastern Bay of Plenty ranges until about midday.
MetService said conditions over the rest of the centre of the country had now eased and the rain and wind warnings have been lifted for Westland, Buller, Nelson, Marlborough, Wellington, Wairarapa, Tararua Range, Taranaki and the central North Island high country.