2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods
Cricket pitches in Pukekawa Auckland Domain during the floods | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Date | 27 January 2023 |
| Flood | |
| 360-minute sustained (6 hours) | |
| Maximum rainfall | 16 cm (6.299 in) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 4 |
| Damage | NZ$2.2 billion (US$1.4×109 in 2023) |
| Areas affected | Upper North Island, New Zealand |
Beginning on Friday, 27 January 2023, regions across the upper North Island of New Zealand experienced widespread catastrophic floods caused by heavy rainfall, with Auckland being the most significantly affected as the Auckland Anniversary holiday weekend began.
Severe flash flooding occurred across Auckland from around 5:00 pm on 27 January local time, after heavy rain in the afternoon. Flooding was widespread across the city, with West Auckland and the North Shore being the worst affected areas. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research reported that an entire summer's worth of rain fell within one day in what it described as a 1-in-200-year event. The event is considered to be the worst flooding in Auckland's modern history. Over the following days other areas of the upper North Island were impacted.
Minister of Finance Grant Robertson stated at the time that the event was New Zealand's costliest non-earthquake event ever, although this record was broken only two weeks later when Cyclone Gabrielle impacted the country.