Cyclone Gabrielle: Thousands left without power in New Zealand - National State of Emergency declared - 22 inches of rain in 48 hours - 11 killed, thousands missing (UPDATED)

Nicholas Yong & Kathryn Armstrong
BBC
Mon, 13 Feb 2023 11:17 UTC

People watch as waves crash against the cliffs in Auckland

Residents across the north of New Zealand are bracing for a rough night as Cyclone Gabrielle lashes the country with torrential rains and winds.

At least 46,000 homes have lost power in the storm, while hundreds of flights have been cancelled.

A state of emergency has been declared in nine regions - affecting nearly a third of the 5.1 million population.

The storm was expected to peak on Monday night with the deluge to continue until Tuesday.

In New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, authorities earlier evacuated people from 50 homes around a 30m-high tower that was in danger of collapse, local media reported.

Dozens of evacuation centres have also been set up in the city.

Emergency services have also reported people trapped by the rising waters - including a family stranded on a flooded highway. Authorities say they've received more than 100 calls for help since Sunday.

Cyclone Gabrielle is hitting New Zealand's north just weeks after Auckland and surrounding areas endured record rainfall and flooding which killed four people.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was among those stranded in the northern city on Monday after flights to the capital Wellington, and elsewhere, were cancelled.

"Extreme weather event has come on the back of extreme weather event," he said. "Things are likely to get worse before they get better."

He announced a NZ$11.5m (£6m; US$7.3m) aid package on Monday.

Emergency management minister Kieran McAnulty said the government was considering declaring a national state of emergency for only the third time in the country's history.

A state of emergency has already been declared in five northern regions. The declaration gives local authorities greater power to respond to dangerous situations and allows them to restrict travel and provide aid.

New Zealand's meteorological agency, Metservice, said Whangarei, a city north of Auckland, had received 100.5mm of rain in the past 12 hours.

Mr McAnulty had warned Monday would be a "critical day" due to the "highly dangerous" combination of high winds and heavy rain.

Winds of up to 140km/h (87mph) battered the Northland region, while the Auckland Harbour Bridge had to be closed as it was rocked by gusts of 110km/h.

For homes left without power, the minister warned it could also take days to restore the power grid as the bad weather made it "unsafe" to work on the network.

Weather officials had earlier downgraded Gabrielle's intensity, but the Metservice in its latest update on Monday said it would still bring "significant heavy rain and potentially damaging winds".

Although the cyclone has yet to make landfall, it has already toppled trees, damaged roads and downed power lines.

Many schools and local government facilities across Auckland and the North Island have closed and people are being asked not to travel before Tuesday.

Meanwhile some 10,000 international Air New Zealand customers were disrupted by the cancellation of 509 flights.

Normal services are expected to resume Tuesday, with the national carrier adding 11 extra domestic flights to its schedule to help with recovery efforts.

Comment: Update February 14

Floodlist reports:

New Zealand - State of Emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle Triggers Floods and Landslides

The Government in New Zealand has declared a National State of Emergency in response to Cyclone Gabrielle. The declaration will apply to the regions of Northland, Auckland, Tairāwhiti (Gisborne), Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Hawke's Bay and Tararua District.

© Waikato Regional Council

Floods in Waikato Region, New Zealand after Cyclone Gabrielle, February 2023

Cyclone Gabrielle brought strong winds with gusts of up to 127 km/h, rough seas, storm surge and heavy rain from 12 February 2023. Raparapaririki in Gisborne recorded 568 mm of rain in 48 hours to 14 February.

The Minister for Emergency Management, Kieran McAnulty, said, "This is an unprecedented weather event that is having major impacts across much of the North Island.

"The emergency order enables the government to streamline its response to the disaster. It has been applied to the Northland, Auckland, Tairawhiti, Tararua, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke's Bay regions."

New Zealand has only previously declared a national state of emergency on two other occasions - during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

Areas of the North Island are still recovering from devastating flooding following record heavy rainfall in late January.

Update February 19

Yahoo! News reports:

New Zealand's cyclone death toll rises to 11 as thousands remain missing

The death toll from New Zealand's cyclone reached 11 on Sunday as thousands of people remained missing after the nation's most destructive weather event in decades.

Cyclone Gabrielle struck the country's north on Monday, bringing widespread flooding, landslides and power cuts, and the level of damage has been compared to Cyclone Bola in 1988. That storm was the most destructive on record to hit the nation of five million people.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the storm is New Zealand's biggest natural disaster this century. He said more fatalities are possible with 6,431 people still missing.

Lives had been "turned upside down" and recovery is a "steep mountain ahead", he said, pointing to disrupted telecommunications, shortages of fresh water and damaged roads still restricting access to some areas.

At least 28,000 homes are still without power, he added.

"The true extent of the devastation and loss become clearer with every passing day," the prime minister said.

The nation has received at least 12 offers of international aid and a team from Fiji is travelling to New Zealand over the coming days to assist with the recovery.

Twenty-seven emergency workers from Australia are currently assisting with the relief effort.

Recovery efforts continued on Sunday, with teams from Auckland Council carrying out rapid building assessments on damaged homes in the coastal areas of Muriwai and Piha, about 60 km (40 miles) west of the nation's largest city, Auckland.

Emergency authorities and the military have dropped critical supplies via helicopter to those left stranded by the cyclone, which washed away farms, bridges and livestock and inundated homes.

Police have sent an extra 100 officers to Hawke's Bay and nearby Tairawhiti amid reports of looting in some areas.

"The police are working to maintain law and order," Mr Hipkins said.