Fire and Emergency crews responded to 719 weather related incidents in Waitemata, Auckland city and Counties Manukau between 12.01 am Friday morning (27 January) and 7.30am today (Saturday 28 January)

District Manager Brad Mosby says there were 2,242 111 calls answered by Fire and Emergency Communications Centre staff, which resulted in 2074 calls for assistance during the weather event.

"This was an unprecedented number of calls and we had to prioritise. We had every available career and volunteer crew on the road responding to the most serious events.

These included:

• 126 rescues of people trapped in cars and houses, or involved in motor vehicle crashes
• 84 priority one incidents (where there was a confirmed threat to people)
• 237 priority two incidents (where there was a possible threat to people)

The rest of the 719 responses comprised private fire alarm activations, structure fires and medical call outs.

Today Fire and Emergency is working through the backlog of around 1355 less urgent 111 calls from last night, contacting callers to see whether they still need assistance this morning.

"We are helping dewater people’s homes and carrying out damage assessment, working closely with Auckland Emergency Management and our emergency services partners," Brad Mosby says.

"I want to thank all our people who’ve been involved with the response effort to assist their communities during this unprecedented event."

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