Police have confirmed the discovery of the body of Philip Sutton, who was swept away by severe flooding in Wellington, New Zealand. Sutton, 61, was looking after a property for his sister in the suburb of Karori when a torrent of flood water smashed through it early on Monday.
Search and rescue teams had been scouring the area but were forced to pause operations on Tuesday due to further torrential rain. Sutton's body was found some distance from his car just after midday on Wednesday, police said in a media briefing. Inspector Fleur de Bes confirmed that the family had been informed and were requesting privacy.
Inspector Dean Silvester described the search in the semi-rural area as challenging, noting that flood debris was found in trees more than a metre off the ground. Wellington was placed under a rare state of emergency on Monday after rainfall totals nearly tripled monthly averages, with more than 70mm falling in one hour in parts of southern Wellington—the highest on record, according to Metservice.
Residents experienced rivers rushing through streets, cars flipped over and dragged out to sea, landslides, and flooding. On Wednesday morning, a dead cow was found washed up on a popular south coast beach. Although rain and wind warnings have been lifted, the state of emergency remains in place, with the city council warning of ongoing hazards such as landslides, slips, flooding, debris, and unstable structures.
Emergency services are working in affected areas, and the council has asked residents not to self-deploy for clean-up efforts. However, community groups have been assisting, with the Newtown Residents Association reporting that locals are checking on each other. President Merio Marsters said, 'Wellington's resilient, Newtown's resilient, and we just check in on each other.'
