Schools close as flash floods hit New Zealand
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- Published
Several schools have closed and some people have been moved to safer areas due to floods in New Zealand's capital city.
Heavy rain and flash flooding has drenched Wellington, causing the government to declare a state of emergency.
Footage online shows vehicles submerged in flooded streets, trees uprooted and houses hit by landslides.
Flash floods are floods that happens very quickly in low-lying land, and they're usually caused by very heavy rain, or when water can't be absorbed quickly enough.
Wellington was soaked with a record 77mm (3in) of rain in less than an hour on Monday, said its mayor Andrew Little.
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Parts of the country had already been drenched by Cyclone Vaianu
"The wild weather continues. We've had flooding, slips and evacuations... The flooding has been strong enough to move cars, and many manhole covers have been lifted," Little said in a video published on social media.
Local authorities have told people to stay inside as the rain is forecast to continue for at least another day.
The flash floods arrived less than a week after Cyclone Vaianu swept New Zealand last weekend.
