Fresh storm warning for New Zealand areas worst hit by Cyclone Gabrielle as death toll rises to 5
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WELLINGTON – A fifth person has died in New Zealand in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle,
There are fears the death toll will climb further.
More heavy rain has been forecast for the badly affected eastern areas of the country.
The disaster has severed roads, caused houses to collapse, cut power and displaced more than 10,000 people in those areas.
New Zealand is under a national state of emergency
The cyclone has faded into the Pacific, but New Zealand’s MetService warned of further downpours on Thursday of up to 40mm per hour in eastern areas already flooded.
National police said in a statement on Thursday that one person is “believed to have died after being caught in flood water” in the Gisborne region.
It took the death toll in the Hawke’s Bay area on the east coast to four.
Meanwhile, military helicopters have had to winch hundreds of stranded storm survivors to safety from rooftops surrounded by rising flood waters.
The New Zealand Defence Force also deployed two large naval vessels and a C-130 Hercules transport plane to deliver thousands of litres of water, along with personnel and several mobile water treatment plants, to hard-hit regions.
Government officials estimate that 10,500 people have so far been displaced by the cyclone, with 9,000 made homeless in the eastern regions alone.
Police said 3,500 people had been reported as “uncontactable”, as residents around the country tried desperately to reach loved ones.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the police had “grave concerns” for those still missing. “We do need to be prepared for the likelihood there will be more fatalities,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Hipkins warned New Zealanders of a long, gruelling recovery ahead, with power not expected to be restored to some areas for weeks and the clean-up likely to take much longer.
“This is a traumatic event,” he said. “It’s a very big challenge to restore infrastructure as fast as we can, but we have to acknowledge that we are in for a bumpy ride.
“There are no overnight fixes. We could have the bulldozers working 24/7 and it would still take time to re-establish road links.”
After offers of help from the United States and other countries were initially set aside, Mr Hipkins said emergency response experts from Australia would arrive in the coming days.
Domestic and international flights resumed on Wednesday, though airline schedules may be disrupted for several days, Auckland Airport said in a tweet.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, Singapore Airlines said Flight SQ281, which was originally scheduled to fly from Singapore to Auckland on Tuesday, had to turn back to the Republic.
An SIA spokesman said this was due to the adverse weather conditions caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.
The flight was rescheduled to Wednesday. It took off as planned at 9.10am and arrived safely in Auckland at 12.13am local time on Thursday (7.13pm Singapore time on Wednesday).
“As the situation remains fluid, other SIA flights between Singapore and Auckland, New Zealand, may be affected by Cyclone Gabrielle,” the spokesman said.
Customers may view the airline’s news alerts flight status
