New Zealand authorities warned that the situation in flood-hit Auckland was likely to worsen after “unprecedented” rainfall brought devastating floods that have killed at least four people and forced hundreds to evacuate in the country’s largest city, writes CNN.

New Zealand’s weather authority issued a red heavy rain warning – the highest level reserved for extreme weather events – for Auckland and the nearby Northland region for the coming days.

Luis Fernandes, a meteorologist at the MetService, said the heavy rainfall would also put Auckland at risk of land slips, which are similar to landslides: “When you have a significant rainfall event like this, rivers can rise quickly, and roads can literally fall away or become covered and can cut off communities”.

An estimated 240 millimeters of rainfall – equal to an entire summer’s worth of rain – fell on Auckland Friday, making it the city’s wettest day on record.

And the MetService said another 80 to 120 mm of rainfall was expected over the next few days.