Once upon a wet and stormy night
Chaos unfolded in Auckland last Friday.
When T and I headed out at 4:30 pm to have dinner at his parentsâ house, it had already been raining non-stop since Thursday evening, and the rain turned torrential during the drive.
âIâve never driven in rain this bad before,â T said.
My heart was pounding almost as hard as the rain.
We arrived okay and warned his parents about the severity of the weather, but they were still keen to go to the play we had tickets for.
After dinner, we drove to the theatre. It was about 7 pm, and the rain hadnât let up. Parts of the street were underwater now.
When we arrived at the theatre, there was literally a waterfall pouring down into the carpark and a raging stream blocking the entrance. We got out of the car, determined to cross the stream, but then just froze at the sight of how bad it was. There was a man desperately sweeping water out of the foyer.
We decided it wasnât worth it to sit through a play while soaking wet, and we were actually worried that we could get trapped there by floodwater if it got worse.
We turned back. T and I made the call to stay the night at his parentsâ house rather than drive home. It was too dangerous.
We went back to their place and borrowed dry pyjamas. We started to look at the news and saw the extent of the flooding. Some people had to evacuate their homes.
A concert that was on that night (Elton John) got cancelled at the last minute due to the weather, causing traffic chaos. Cars were breaking down on the motorway trying to push through floodwater.
My brother sent two photos taken at his house: a slip crashing through a retaining wall, and mud seeping into his kitchen.
A state of emergency was declared later that evening.
T and I were lucky. Many people lost their homes to flooding and/or landslides.
Friday 27 January 2023 was the wettest day ever recorded in Auckland. For context, January is normally Auckland's driest month.
Climate change, folks.
On a happier note, the free romcom book promo is still going! Ends 10 February.
