The state of emergency applies to the country’s largest city Auckland, as well as the regions of Northland, Tairawhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay.
Cyclone Gabrielle Update: New Zealand’s government has declared a national state of emergency, as Cyclone Gabrielle continues to batter the country, with floods trapping people on roofs and landslides destroying homes in what officials have described as an “unprecedented” natural disaster.
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The country announced a national state of emergency on Tuesday as the scale of damage inflicted by the storm emerged. The state of emergency applies to the country’s largest city Auckland, as well as the regions of Northland, Tairawhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay.
The country was lashed by intense rainfall overnight that forced evacuations and brought widespread flooding, power outages and road closures.
“This is a significant disaster with a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders,” McAnulty told reporters in the capital Wellington.
A weather station in the Hawke’s Bay and Napier region had recorded three times more rain overnight than what usually falls for the entire month of February, MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said.
“It’s going to be wet, sodden, devastation around there,” Ferris told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“We’ve seen the worst of the storm now,” Ferris added. “We’ve just got to get through today.”
Much of Auckland ground to a halt on Monday as train services were canceled, libraries and most schools were closed, and authorities asked people to make only essential trips.
Air New Zealand canceled all domestic flights to and from Auckland through Tuesday morning, as well as many international flights. Some international routes would continue operating, airline officials said, although they might need to be diverted from Auckland. The carrier also canceled domestic flights to and from the cities of Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo.
In all, Air New Zealand canceled more than 500 flights. More than 10,000 international customers had been affected, the airline said, with thousands still to be rebooked.
(With inputs from agencies)
