Business as usual for Auckland Airport

It's business as usual at Auckland Airport today after torrential rain caused flooding on the roads and in terminals last night.

Today there was no evidence of water damage in the terminals and travel wasn't disputed.

Travellers spoken to by NZME said they weren't aware of any water damage around the terminals or roads.

One woman flying to New Plymouth said she had seen news coverage of the flooding and was worried about whether the airport would be open today.

"I checked online before I drove out," she said.

An Auckland Airport operations spokesman said heavy rain combined with some blocked gutters to cause the leaks.

He said the leaks were resolved last night but staff were trying to dry out some carpets out this morning.

The downpour was unusually heavy, he said.

"Historically speaking I'm not aware of a previous similar incident ... I cannot recollect it happening for the last few years."

He said engineers would assess the leaks and see what if any repairs were needed. It was otherwise business as usual at the airport, he said about 9am today.

"Our latest is that we are back to normal and running as far as we can assert operations-wise. There's no real impact to flights this morning."

Areas of Auckland received more than half the average rainfall for the month in a five-hour period yesterday, causing flooding in parts of the city.

The heavy rain that lashed Auckland yesterday also caused power outages and road closures, including at Auckland Airport, where both terminals were also leaking.

Power was cut to more than 1600 homes, the majority in St Heliers, but power was restored to all homes last night.

Floodwaters closed the road to the airport's domestic terminal. An airport spokesman said there were leaks in both the domestic and international terminals and minor flooding on the airfield, but it didn't affect operations, passengers, flight arrivals or departures.

A spokeswoman for Auckland Civil Defence said the organisation received 140 calls regarding flooding to its call centre, between 6pm and 9pm yesterday.

Residents were affected by the heavy downpour

Floodwaters have subsided in Papakura this morning.

Small puddles of water remain in a few paddocks on Ponga Rd and a mound of driveway material has collected on Judge Richardson Drive.

Parts of Rosehill were damp this morning, but no damage to property or roads was obvious

MetService meteorologist Ciaran Doolin said up to 77.4mm of rain hit parts of the city from 4pm to 9pm.

Mr Doolin said the greatest volume of rain was recorded at Auckland Airport and the rain was it its heaviest between 7pm and 8pm.

"The long-term mean rainfall for the month of July is 131.3mm ... that's more than half the monthly long-term mean."

Mr Doolin said the rain was localised.

"That wasn't the case for all parts of Auckland, but there were certainly quite a few weather stations recording into the double figures," he said.

The weather will be settled today with occasional showers and southwesterly winds.
Tomorrow will be fine, but rain will return on Saturday and there could be some heavy falls.

Several members of the public posted photographs on social media last night showing floodwaters outside the airport, including one where a man in a fluoro vest appeared to be in thigh-deep water on the main road.

Broadcaster Tony Veitch posted a video on Facebook from the Koru Lounge showing water leaking from the ceiling.

Out West, Henderson resident Bex Hurley posted a picture of two cars in her flooded driveway, with water almost up to the doors.

Residents started reporting localised flooding in West and South Auckland just after 6pm.
Fire Service spokesman Jaron Phillips said emergency services received 100 calls and went to more than 60 homes and businesses to deal with flooding-related problems during the peak of the downpour. The flooding was isolated to the Auckland region.

In Rosehill, residents watched as cars floated down the road.

Kevin Parkinson said there was about a metre of water in Chichester Dr and police cars were at each end to stop people from entering.

"It's terrible, it's quite high."

Mr Parkinson said the amount of water was "quite amazing."

"I saw a vehicle floating on the side of the road. Another one was being pushed out," he said.

In Totara Heights, floodwaters poured through Glenys and Ray Ogg's Cantua Close home.

Mrs Ogg, 69, said water came through the garage and spread down over two levels of the house, including the main bedroom, which was "totally flooded".

"When you walk there's water pooling up around your feet, that's how much water has gone down in there," she said. "My husband came upstairs ... and called out and said 'we're under water'."

The couple have lived there for 18 years and never had flooding before.

"That's the volume of water tonight that we've had," said Mrs Ogg.

"Never had water in the garage, never had it anything like tonight. Couldn't have imagined it."

She said despite offers from neighbours to go and sleep over, the couple would "bunk down" in one of their spare rooms overnight.

In the light of day, Mrs Ogg said she counted herself lucky that the flood damage to the house wasn't new severe.

"I mean, you just think of all those people in Whanganui and in Christchurch and think we are very lucky," she said.

This morning a team of carpet cleaning and flood restoration specialists were at her house pulling carpet up to dry it out.

"We have a really good insurance company, everything's swung into action," she said.

The couple spent the night in a spare bedroom that wasn't affected by the water, which ran into the house "literally like a small river".

"My mind just didn't process it... I feel a bit weepy today," Mrs Ogg said.

The water ran into the main bedroom in the house with such volume that it came through the floor into a basement below.

Mrs Ogg said the clean up process could take some time, but the kitchen and living area weren't damaged and the couple were fine sleeping in the spare bedroom.

"The dogs weren't even bothered by it," she said.

"You have to stay positive... it could've been much worse."

In Opaheke, south of Papakura, about 5cu m of driveway top material had been washed out of driveways over a length of 2km of Ponga Rd.

Out West, Ray White Real Estate agent Michael Thompson said the whole Glen Eden office was submerged.

"It was as if there was a stream running through the centre of our office."

A South Auckland woman said her flatmate had a scary experience on her way home.

"She was driving down Kidd Rd, Karaka. There's a bridge which is in a dip and she didn't see that it was overflowing until she hit the water."

The weather hit early afternoon, causing congestion on all of the main motorways after several crashes and problems on metal roads.

About 40 lightning strikes hit offshore in Northland within a two-hour period yesterday before the downpour hit Auckland.

- With additional reporting from NZ Herald