In New Zealand, 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 millions of people. In New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, authorities earlier evacuated thousands of people.
Dozens of evacuation centres have also been set up in the city. Emergency services have also reported that people are trapped by the rising waters.
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 today after flights to the capital Wellington, and elsewhere, were cancelled.
New Zealand’s meteorological agency, Metservice, said Whangarei, a city north of Auckland, received 100.5mm of rain in the past 12 hours.
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. 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. Many schools and local government facilities across Auckland and the North Island have closed and people are being asked not to travel before Tuesday.