Many have come forward to tell stories of lucky escapes.
Musicians Dick Johnson and Anna Coddington were rescued from the second-storey window of their Auckland home in a kayak.
“It was surreal,” said Johnson.
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The neighbour, a local doctor, kayaked over a fence and through large trees to get to Johnson, Coddington and their two sons, aged 9 and 6.
Stuck on the second floor of the house, with water rising up the stairs, Johnson had attempted to reach his own kayak, but said:
“The torrent of water was so powerful, I couldn’t get five metres out of my front door.”
