(Wellington) The torrential rains and bad weather that swept through the city of Auckland, New Zealand on Friday led to the cancellation of an Elton John concert just minutes before its scheduled start.
Some 40,000 spectators were expected in the evening at the Mt Smart stadium in the country’s largest city. Thousands of people were already there when the organizers decided to cancel the event shortly before the artist took the stage at 7:30 p.m. local time.
The concert is part of Elton John’s farewell tour. One of the promoters, Frontier Touring, announced on Twitter that the concert was canceled due to dangerous weather conditions.
New Zealand weather agency MetService warned of flash floods and dangerous road conditions across the city. Leaders closed sections of Highway 1, the main thoroughfare through the city, on Friday evening.
Six inches of rain fell in just 11 hours, the agency said. Footage posted online shows waist-deep water in some places. Officials have asked residents in areas vulnerable to flooding to be prepared to evacuate.
A state of emergency has been declared for the entire city. At least one body has been recovered, but attempts are still being made to determine if the death was caused by bad weather.
New Zealand’s emergency services said it had received more than a thousand requests for help, mostly for flooded properties.
Bad weather also led to the delay or cancellation of some flights. Auckland Airport had to limit operations after a plane damaged lights while landing.
The mayor of Auckland has said on local radio that no respite should be expected until the rain has stopped.