Auckland airport has insisted operations are being maintained as a state of emergency was declared due to widespread flooding across the New Zealand city.

Auckland’s emergency management department warned that heavy rain and thunderstorms were affecting the area.

The state of emergency across the country’s largest city was issued as a “precautionary measure”.

Heavy rainfall on Tuesday filled basements, stranded cars, toppled trees and disrupted rail services, the BBC reported.

The torrential rains are expected to last until Wednesday evening local time.

The same area was hit by record rainfall in January and by a cyclone in February.

Auckland airport said in a statement on its website that operations “continue to run as normal at this stage”.

In a tweet, the airport said: it was closely monitoring its stormwater systems and has “sandbags, sucker trucks and pumps” on standby.

“Travellers are encouraged to check their airline app or website for any information about flood disruptions,” the airport added in a separate tweet.

“We advise anyone travelling to the airport to follow the advice of Auckland Emergency Management and check the Auckland Transport and NZTA [New Zealand Transport Agency] websites 

Part of a terminal at the airport was left under water due to flooding in January.