Surf Lifeguards spent the night rescuing 79 people and assisting many more to safety across West Auckland and the city’s North Shore.

Search and Rescue (SAR) Squads from Mairangi Bay, Muriwai and Bethells Beach worked closely with Police, Fire and Emergency and St John Ambulance to rescue people from flooded homes and workplaces.

On the North Shore, Mairangi Bay SAR squad rescued 69 people from workplaces along Target Road, Wairau Valley between 8:30pm and 10pm. Using inflatable rescue boats (IRBs), the lifeguards ferried groups of five to safety from a number of shops in the area.

They were then alerted to a search for a missing person near Sunnynook Bus Station who was last seen on a kayak. After searching for around an hour the kayak had been found, but not the missing person and the lifeguards were stood down for the evening.

A further six people were rescued from rapidly rising floodwaters in Ararimu Valley Road in Helensville by lifeguards from the Muriwai SAR Squad. A family of five, including a very young child were rescued through a window of their property and transported by two IRBs to safety. Lifeguards then returned to a second property on the road where an 80-year-old woman was rescued from the second story of her house. The IRBs rafted up on the roof of the first story and assisted the lady from the house, transporting to the waiting Police and Ambulance Officers.

A separate group of lifeguards who were returning home around midnight were flagged down by a group trapped by floodwaters on a high-point on Factory Road, Waimauku. They were informed that a man was screaming for help in his vehicle, which had started to float in the floodwater. The man made it out of the vehicle, and a lifeguard responded with a rescue tube and helped him back to a point of safety. They then provided first aid as the man was beginning to get hypothermic.

The lifeguards then responded to a separate vehicle which hit the flooding at speed and became stuck in neck-deep water. They responded with a rescue tube and rescued a man and two dogs from the vehicle. Another vehicle then did the same thing and the lifeguards rescued the sole occupant from that vehicle as well. After a few hours, the water had reduced and the lifeguards assisted a further 10 people to safety off the high point.

Lifeguards from Bethells SAR Squad were first on scene to assist those stuck at Tram Valley Road in Swanson around 4:30pm. One person was rescued from their flooded vehicle, while a further 10 people in six different groups were assisted to safety. Another group of lifeguards from Bethells SAR Squad responded with IRBs to Waitākere Fire Station to assist Fire and Emergency.

Surf Lifeguards from Mangawhai SAR Squad and Sunset SAR Squad were requested by Police to assist with flood-water rescues in Maungaturoto and Port Waikato, but were unable to respond due to access points being blocked.

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