Aucklanders race to clear rubbish ahead of more bad weather

Aucklanders are racing to clean up rubbish and debris from last Friday's flood ahead of more expected bad weather.

An Emergency Mobile Alert was sent out this afternoon warning Aucklanders to expect "extremely heavy rain" to hit the region.

In West Auckland, groups of locals were volunteering their time to help clean up the properties of people unable to do it on their own.

1News visited a property on Wilsher Crescent where several nearby residents were sweeping mud and silt from a driveway.

"This lady here she's elderly, doesn't speak English and is on her own," Lee Burrell, who had coordinated volunteer efforts today, said.

"You can see from the state of the place it's a mess."

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Other locals were also seen dropping food for those most impacted or helping clear rubbish — and there was a lot of it to clear.

Some footpaths were entirely covered by the contents of houses that had been flooded — including beds, couches, bookshelves, and electronics.

"Everything this family has had over the past 10 years has been taken away in a split second," one resident told 1News, taking a short break from clearing silt from the driveway. They said the cars had also been destroyed.

The council had deployed rubbish trucks across the city and had put skip bins in some areas.

"As soon as those bins are filled, we'll take them away and put them somewhere else where the need is," Auckland Council's Barry Potter said, speaking to 1News as he drove around Māngere in South Auckland.

Thirty had been put out already.

The council said Aucklanders could call 0800 22 22 00 to arrange free drop-offs of storm-related waste at nine participating regional transfer stations.

If a free drop-off did not work, they could call the same number and arrange a time to put it out for collection and have the council pick it up.

Auckland Airport was also hoping not to have a repeat of Friday night, where flooding inundated the international terminal, trapping passengers on the upper levels. Streets were also flooded, and flights grounded.

"We've got sandbag in situ in case we need those...sucker trucks, we've got a couple of those," Auckland Airport chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui said.

"Our drains after Friday had a lot of sediment and bar, so we made sure all our drains are clear."

She said staff also had plenty of blankets ready to go in case they need to be handed out to passengers stuck at the terminal.