Severe flooding and landslides struck Wellington, New Zealand, between April 20 and 21, 2026, after 77 mm (3 inches) of rain fell in less than 1 hour, prompting evacuations across multiple suburbs and leaving one person missing. A state of emergency remains in place as saturated ground and additional rainfall maintain the risk of further flooding and landslides.
Red Heavy Rain Warnings were issued for Wellington and Wairarapa on Monday, April 20, 2026, as flooding, swollen rivers, and landslides cut through infrastructure across the region, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency. Further heavy rain is forecast through Tuesday, April 21, with accumulations of up to 150 mm (5.9 inches) expected in the hardest-hit areas.
NIWA scientists have found a new active fault in Wellington Harbour after analysing data from a recent marine survey. The fault, referred to informally as the Aotea Fault, runs in a northeasterly direction for about 2km in Lambton Harbour, petering out about 1 km east
A very strong earthquake with recorded magnitude of 6.2 (GeoNet) struck New Zealand's North Island at 03:52 UTC on January 20, 2014 (15:52 local time). USGS measured depth of 28 km, GeoNet measured depth of 33 km.
Epicenter was located
New Zealand was hit by the large low pressure system bringing destructive storms that have swept over the country in the last 24 hours, damaging houses, roads and seawalls, as well as closing dozens of schools and leaving thousands without power. Luckily, fierce
