‘Spongiest’ City Auckland Still No Match for Floods

Emergency workers and a man wade through flood waters in Auckland, New Zealand, on Jan. 27, 2023. Hayden Woodward/New Zealand Herald via AP

A barrage of floods in Australia and record-breaking rain in New Zealand are devastating usually resilient communities—and slugging insurers.

The severity and frequency of devastation also call into question the design of cities meant to keep millions of citizens out of harm’s way.