At their most intense, the downpours that drove widespread flash flooding across Wellington early on Monday morning would have counted as extreme even by tropical standards.

But here in 2026, it is part of an increasingly familiar pattern reminding us that our communities and infrastructure aren’t yet prepared to cope with what a warmer, wilder future holds.

Over a 48-hour window, the capital saw rainfall totals that nearly tripled monthly averages, with some residents describing it as the worst flooding event since Wellington’s disastrous 1976 storm.

MetService reported that more than 70mm of rain fell in just one hour in parts of southern Wellington early on Monday morning. That is more than half the total rainfall typically recorded at the city’s Botanical Gardens over the whole of April.

Impacts were similarly immediate and severe. In some suburbs, entire streets were flooded. Vehicles were left floating in floodwaters; others were simply carried away.

Local emergency services were stretched, responding to more than 150 weather-related calls in a single morning, as hubs were set up in the suburb of Lower Hutt to support displaced residents.

Infrastructure across the region struggled to cope. Multiple sections of local state highways were forced closed by flooding and slips,........

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