New Zealand declares national emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle causes widespread destruction

New Zealand's government has declared a national emergency following cyclone Gabrielle, which Prime Minister Chris Hipkins described as the most significant weather event of this century.

The cyclone has caused extensive damage in the north of the country, resulting in widespread flooding and destruction, and necessitating forced evacuations, numerous flight cancellations, road closures, and power outages affecting nearly 60,000 homes.

“This is a significant disaster with a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders,” Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty told the media.


The state of emergency has been declared for six regions, including Northland, Tairawhiti, the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Hawke's Bay, and covers Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, which was already dealing with severe flooding and record rain last month.

This is only the third time that a national emergency has been declared in New Zealand, following the Covid pandemic and the Christchurch attack in 2019.

Local emergencies had already been declared in all the affected regions on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday morning, Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty announced the national emergency, which will allow the government to provide additional resources to support the affected areas.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who referred to the cyclone as the most significant weather event of the century, also stated that the military is assisting with evacuations and maintaining essential supply lines.

Following the tropical cyclone's landfall on Sunday, the northern regions experienced heavy rainfall overnight, resulting in more than 225,000 people losing power, forced evacuations, and road closures.

According to officials, one firefighter is missing, and another has been critically injured after being caught in a landslide near Auckland.

"This is a significant disaster with a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders," said Mr McAnulty in Wellington during a press conference with reporters.

FAQs

Q1. Are Air New Zealand domestic flights functioning?
Air New Zealand has cancelled all domestic flights to and from Auckland until Tuesday morning.

Q2. What is the capital of New Zealand?
Wellington