Torrential rain and wild weather in Auckland on Friday caused disruptions throughout the city and an Elton John concert to be canceled just before it was due to start.
About 40,000 people were expected to attend the evening concert at Mt Smart Stadium in New Zealand's largest city. Thousands were already at the venue when organizers decided to cancel not long before John was due to take the stage at 7:30 p.m, The Associated Press reported.
The concert was billed as a final farewell tour for John. Frontier Touring, one of the concert promoters, tweeted the concert had been canceled due to unsafe weather conditions.
Many concertgoers who had braved the conditions were frustrated the decision hadn't been made hours earlier.
Weather agency MetService warned of flash flooding and hazardous driving conditions throughout the city. On Friday night, transport authorities closed parts of State Highway 1, the main highway that bisects Auckland.
Video posted online showed waist-deep water in some places, and authorities were asking residents in flood-prone areas to be prepared in case they needed to evacuate.
