Monitoring Desk
AUCKLAND: New Zealand has declared a state of emergency in the country due to Cyclone Gabrielle, the third such alert in its history.
Kieran McAnulty, the Minister for Emergency Management, signed the declaration into place Tuesday morning. The decision will apply to the Northland, Tairawhiti, Bay of Plenty, Auckland, Hawkes Bay and Waikato regions and streamline the government’s response to the calamity. At least 38,000 homes were without electricity on Tuesday morning, according to BBC News.
In Auckland, the New Zealand’s largest city, the authorities earlier evacuated people from 50 homes around a 30m-high tower that was in danger of collapse, reported the local media. Dozens of evacuation centres have also been established in the city. McAnulty described the storm as “an unprecedented weather event”.
Read Also: New Zealand Govt Warns People to Prepare for Cyclone Gabrielle
He said the state of emergency will allow for federal coordination of a clean-up response and would provide additional resources to the affectees. It would also give the government more power to respond to dangerous situations, including restricting travel.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced a NZ$11.5m (£6m; US$7.3m) aid package on Monday.
Cyclone Gabrielle hitting country’s north
Cyclone Gabrielle is hitting the country’s north, just weeks after Auckland and the surrounding areas endured record rainfall and flooding that killed four people. One firefighter was critically injured and another still missing after a landslide took place at Auckland’s west coast beach settlement Muriwai. The search for the second firefighter had to be called off because conditions were too dangerous.
New Zealand’s meteorological agency, Metservice, said 100-260mm had fallen in the Hawke Bay region during the past 24 hours. Metservice on Wednesday said the cyclone would continue to bring harsh weather to northern and central parts of New Zealand as it moved southeast.
Meanwhile, some 10,000 international Air New Zealand customers were disrupted by the cancellation of at least 509 flights. The Auckland airport said Tuesday morning that international and domestic flights were expected to restart adding if weather conditions deteriorated, that could change.
