New Zealand declares national state of emergency due to Cyclone Gabrielle
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WELLINGTON – The New Zealand government declared a national state of emergency for the third time in its history on Tuesday due to Cyclone Gabrielle.
The storm has caused widespread flooding, landslides and huge ocean swells across the North Island.
It has also forced evacuations and stranded people on rooftops.
“It has been a big night for New Zealanders across the country, but particularly in the upper North Island... a lot of families displaced, a lot of homes without power, extensive damage done across the country,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told reporters after the declaration.
A national state of emergency has been declared on only two previous occasions – following the magnitude-6.3 quake in Christchurch in 2011 and in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At 6pm on Tuesday, Gabrielle had moved south-east of Auckland, near the east coast of the country’s North Island, and was expected to continue moving south-east, roughly parallel to the coast.
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said that while New Zealand was now through the worst of the storm, more rain and high winds were expected.
The country is suffering from extensive flooding, landslides and damage to roads and infrastructure, he added.
Severe weather is forecast to extend to the upper South Island as the cyclone moves.
The authorities have evacuated beach settlements and are still asking people to leave home as rivers continue to swell and the tide rises.
Roads are closed, mobile phone services are down and some towns are cut off.
Svere tropical storm Gabrielle has caused widespread flooding, landslides and huge ocean swells across the North Island.
PHOTO: AFP
Mr Hipkins said it was too early to say how many people have been displaced or injured. No deaths have been confirmed.
Local media has published photos of people sitting on top of buildings surrounded by flood waters, of houses swept to the bottom of hills following landslides, and of roads under water.
New Zealand fire and emergency services confirmed that a volunteer firefighter was inside a house after it slid down a hill in a beachside town near Auckland. A second firefighter was rescued and is in critical condition in hospital.
A New Zealand navy vessel was making its way to a yacht that turned on its emergency beacon on Tuesday morning off the east coast of the country.
Air New Zealand initially said it had intended to resume flight services from mid-afternoon on Tuesday, after a total of 592 flights had been impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.
But it later cancelled all domestic flights in and out of Auckland for the remainder of Tuesday.
“The strength and direction of winds at Auckland Airport are making it challenging to service aircraft, and it would be unsafe for our people to continue to operate in these conditions,” the airline said in a statement. REUTERS
