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Wild rain and widespread flooding which lashed the Auckland region yesterday, saw residents evacuated from their western suburb homes and the last minute cancellation of the Elton John concert.

Rain and severe thunderstorms drenched the region from yesterday morning onwards, with MetService reporting an Auckland Council weather station registered 60mm of rain over one hour.

The significant rainfall saw residents who were trapped in flooded homes across the city having to be evacuated.

A house on Camphora Rd in the suburb of Ranui was lifted off its foundations by floodwater which reportedly rose to halfway up the windows. A person still trapped inside had to be rescued by emergency services.

Police, fire services and the military were all called in to help. The Defence force had deployed a Unimog truck and a four-wheel drive.

The wild weather proved too much for Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium with a last minute cancellation of the Elton John concert with a spokesperson saying it was ‘‘far too dangerous’’.

The announcement was met with screams from the crowd.

The concert was set to be attended by 40,000 concertgoers. It’s the second time the legendary performer has had to cancel in Tā maki Makaurau, after he was forced to cut off his show in 2020 after being diagnosed with walking pneumonia.

Flooding also saw cancellations of all Auckland rail service lines yesterday evening. Earlier in the day, Waka Kotahi – NZ Transport Agency cancelled all Pine Harbour ferry services until further notice due to the severe weather.

State Highway 1 at Brynderwyn and State Highway 12 were closed to traffic in both directions due to flooding.

Auckland fire crews responded to more than 500 call-outs relating to the weather, with Fire and Emergency Communications Centre Shift manager Alex Norris saying every fire truck in Auckland had been dispatched to help.

Shea Carr and her partner noticed water coming up through the floor of their Camphora Pl home with it reaching their knees before they made the decision to get out.

They saved as much of their personal property as they could, piling items on the kitchen table, benches and beds.

‘‘I’ve got my dog, I’ve got my partner and I’ve got the wet clothes I’m wearing.’’

Chris Watson and his mother Tangata, who live on Clover Drive in

Henderson, said they had never seen rain like this before.

‘‘You could see fences floating down the driveway. There was a bathtub floating away as well,’’ Watson said, adding the water had reached waist height at one point.

Fire and Emergency used kayaks to help people out of their houses, he said.

Cita Shanks has lived in Clover Dr in Henderson for 22 years and has never seen anything like the flooding that has deluged her neighbourhood. She said some of the bedrooms and the lounge has also flooded.

Eda Alkaya was visiting friends on Mayfair Pl in Henderson when her car was half submerged by water.

Two neighbourhood cats took refuge on the roof of her car.

One of the cats fell and she has not seen it since.

Her friend’s garden was washed away by the water that reached about waist height.

Eleven beaches across Auckland were also black flagged due to wastewater overflow which occur when wastewater, or sewage spills out from gully traps, manholes, engineered overflow points or pump stations. Mission Bay, St Heliers, Okahu Bay, Te Tiana, St Mary’s Bay, Taipari Strand, Chapman Strand, Beach Haven, Herne Bay, Home Bay and Point England are all affected. Warnings are in place until tomorrow.

To add to the weather woes, flights in and out of Auckland Airport were diverted, delayed and cancelled after a plane landing at Auckland International Airport damaged several runway lights.

Elsewhere in the north was also being pummelled with rain. The wettest place in Aotearoa at 3.30pm yesterday was Castlerock in the Coromandel Ranges, recording 151.5mm recorded over 24 hours, MetService said.