Wellington: Three people have died and at least one person has been reported missing after heavy rain caused disastrous flooding in the New Zealand’s largest city.

The deadly flood emergency continued after heavy rainfall hit the country’s north island, causing landslides, flash floods and knocking out roads New Zealand experienced its wettest day on Friday.

The nation’s weather forecaster, MetService, warned of more severe weather across Auckland until Tuesday. The MetService said that intense rainfall could also cause surface and flash flooding.

New Zealand Climate Change Minister James Shaw said, Climate change is causing heavy rainfall to become more common and intense, though the impact varies by region.

Newly appointed Prime Minister Chris Hipkins took a helicopter ride through the flood-affected areas to assess the situation. He described the floods as the worst in recent times.

Many roads were damaged due to heavy rains. Several vehicles were half-submerged on flooded streets.

Auckland and surrounding areas are the worst affected by the floods. Auckland has a population of 1.6 million.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand said crews had responded to more than 700 incidents across the region and staff had taken more than 2,000 emergency calls.