New Zealand's Wellington Declares Emergency as Rain Triggers Floods

(MENAFN) New Zealand's capital Wellington declared a state of emergency Monday as relentless torrential rainfall unleashed severe flooding and landslides across the city, leaving one man unaccounted for and thousands of residents on high alert.

Authorities are actively searching for Philip Sutton, a man in his 60s from the Karori suburb, who was reported missing after floodwaters and debris struck his home, according to a statement from police.

The region remains under a red heavy rain warning — the highest risk classification issued by the country's meteorological service — with the alert set to remain in effect through Tuesday night.

Residents occupying low-lying and flood-vulnerable areas have been urged to self-evacuate over the next 24 hours, even as officials have stopped short of issuing mandatory evacuation orders. An emergency assistance center has been established to shelter and support those forced from their homes.

The crisis compounds an already difficult stretch for the lower North Island, where several communities are still clearing debris and assessing damage from a separate round of flash floods that tore through the area just one day earlier on Sunday.

With the weather system showing no immediate signs of relenting, emergency services remain on high alert as the full scale of damage — and the fate of the missing man — continues to unfold.

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