Mayor Andrew Little ‌told state-owned Radio New Zealand that Wellington had received 77mm of rain in less than an hour, its heaviest rainfall on record.

The deluge ​caused flash flooding, road closures and landslides in the city’s central ​business district and southern suburbs.

The media reported that people had ⁠to escape flooded homes during the night, and at least one ​landslide hit a home.

Several streets in the city ​were evacuated, and the Fire and Emergency service said they responded to 150 calls for assistance overnight.

A search was underway for a man living at a property that was flooded in the suburb of Karori, New Zealand police said in a statement.

The weather had cleared for a few hours earlier ‌on ⁠Monday, allowing some of the floodwaters to dissipate, but further heavy rain is now hitting the city.

Weather forecaster MetService is warning that the rain could worsen later on Monday.

Wellington Region Emergency Management Office ​advised ​residents in ⁠flood-prone spots to move to higher ground for at least the next 24 hours.

An assistance centre for the region, which has a population of around 521,000, has been set up for those who need to evacuate.

New Zealand has been pounded by heavy rains in the past few days.

The Wellington region was hit ⁠by ​severe weather that caused flood damage overnight ​on Friday, while much of the northern part of the North Island was impacted ​by Cyclone Vaianu a week ago.