As Cyclone Gabrielle slams into New Zealand’s north, 46,000 houses have lost electricity. Authorities have issued severe weather warnings, and hundreds of flights have been canceled.
As Gabrielle approaches the North Island, some areas have declared a state of emergency. It comes only weeks after record rains in Auckland and adjacent areas caused floods and killed four people.
“Extreme weather event has come on the back of extreme weather event,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who announced an NZ$11.5m (£6m; US$7.3m) aid package.
“Things are likely to get worse before they get better.”
New Zealand’s minister for emergency management said that the government is considering imposing a national state of emergency
Kieran McAnulty, minister for emergency management, said during a press conference on Monday that the government is considering imposing a national state of emergency for the third time in the country’s history.
Five northern regions, including Auckland, have already declared a state of emergency. The declaration gives local governments more authority to respond to dangerous situations and to restrict travel and provide relief.
Metservice in New Zealand reported that Whangarei, a city north of Auckland, has received 100.5mm (4in) of rain in the previous 12 hours.
Mr. McAnulty went on to say that Monday will be a “key day” because of the “very dangerous” mix of high winds and heavy rain. Northland was hammered by winds of up to 140km/h (87mph), while Auckland Harbour Bridge was shaken by gusts of 110km/h.
He cautioned that restoring the electricity grid may take days because the terrible weather rendered it “unsafe” to work on the network.
Weather officials had already decreased the intensity of Cyclone Gabrielle, but Metservice in its latest assessment on Monday said the storm will still bring “significant heavy rain and potentially damaging winds”.
Despite the fact that the cyclone has yet to make landfall, it has already toppled trees, damaged roads, and downed power lines.
Many schools and local government buildings are closed across Auckland and the North Island, and people are being advised not to travel if at all possible.
509 flights were canceled, affecting around 10,000 overseas Air New Zealand passengers
Meanwhile, 509 flights were canceled, affecting around 10,000 overseas Air New Zealand passengers.
Normal service is anticipated to resume on Tuesday, with the national carrier adding 11 more domestic flights to its schedule to aid in recovery efforts.
The cyclone is the second major weather event to strike Auckland and the North Island in as many weeks.
According to authorities, the two huge occurrences have strained the emergency and recovery response system.