An Emirates flight from Dubai to Auckland took a U-turn after 7 hours of being in the air due to floods in New Zealand. As seen on flight tracking website FlightRadar24, an Emirates-operated Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft on its way to Auckland Airport returned to Dubai International Airport after a 7-hour journey due to heavy rainfall in New Zealand, resulting in multiple delays. I got flooded. Countries including Auckland. The flight was over the Indian Ocean near Malaysia when the decision to return to the country of origin was taken by the Captain.
Torrential rain and wild weather in Auckland on Friday caused disruption in New Zealand’s largest city. Videos posted online showed waist-deep water in some places, and officials are asking residents living in flood-hit areas to be prepared in case they need to evacuate. Lawmaker Ricardo Mendez posted a video of water rising in residential homes. “We just had to evacuate our home because the water was already rising and coming in fast,” he tweeted.
Fire and Emergencies New Zealand said it had received more than 1,000 calls for help, but many of the calls were from people who had properties flooded. The agency was urging callers to clear the line for those in immediate danger. Some flights were delayed or even canceled due to unseasonal weather.
Auckland Airport said it had reduced its runway operations after an incoming aircraft damaged runway lights. “This is substantially affecting international arrivals and departures and large aircraft traveling domestically,” the airport wrote on Twitter. “Our maintenance team is on site and working hard to repair the damage.”
Elton John’s concert was canceled just before it was due to start due to the storm. Around 40,000 people were expected to attend the evening’s concert at Mount Smart Stadium in New Zealand’s largest city. The organizers decided to cancel the show shortly before John was due to take the stage at 7:30 pm, when thousands of people were already at the venue.
The concert was billed as John’s final farewell tour. Frontier Touring, one of the concert promoters, tweeted that the concert was canceled due to unsafe weather conditions. Many concert-goers who faced the circumstances were disappointed that the decision had not been made hours earlier.
Weather agency MetService warned of flash floods and dangerous driving conditions. On Friday night, transport officials closed parts of State Highway 1, the main highway that bisects Auckland.
with PTI inputs