An Auckland bus was filmed driving through waist-high floodwaters in the suburb of Onehunga this morning.
The unnerving video was shared by Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board member Debbie Burrows on Facebook shortly just after 6.30am today.
Cars could be seen floating around the floodwaters on Beachcroft Ave, near the Queenstown Rd motorway on-ramp, Burrows said in a Facebook post.
The bus could then be seen driving through the water towards the end of the video.
"A bus just went through it! I was trying to get street closed off but struggling to get message through via AT," she wrote in a Facebook post.
"Resorted to 111 so hopefully in the meantime no-one else will try to give it a go!!"
Auckland Transport's executive general manager of safety Stacey van der Putten said it is working with the bus driver to get a fuller picture.
"Once the vehicle passed through the flooded area, the driver parked in a safe location and a bus changeover was completed. The vehicle was then towed to the depot for a damage inspection."
Authorities have pleaded with drivers to stop trying to drive through floodwaters due to the risk of becoming trapped.
Burrows said that additional vehicles moving through the floodwaters had created damage in the surrounding suburb.
"Just heard a rubbish truck went through before this and created such a wave it took out a fence".
The bus, operating on route 309, was running between Māngere and the city centre.
In a tweet, Auckland Transport said buses on the route were later diverted.
"This was an exceptional situation, which was changing rapidly, and our bus drivers made the best of the circumstances," van der Putten said.
"We're proud of our bus drivers for their resilience over the last few days."
AT has also asked operators to report hazards as soon as possible.
"We are telling our operators to prioritise safety and not drive through flood waters."
A number of Auckland buses are taking on a significant amount of water as the city is hit by a deluge caused by heavy rain. (Source: 1News)
It comes after videos emerged from across Auckland of buses getting stuck in floodwater on Friday.
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