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WELLINGTON, Feb. 14 (AP) — The New Zealand government declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for the country’s North Island, which was battered by Cyclone Gabriel.
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said the declaration enabled the government to support the six regions that had declared local emergencies and provide additional resources.
The country was hit by heavy rainfall overnight, forcing evacuations and bringing widespread flooding, power outages and road closures.
“This is a major disaster and a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders,” McAnuty told reporters in the capital Wellington.
The state of emergency applies to Auckland, the country’s largest city, as well as the Northland, Telaviti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay regions.
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said a weather station in the Hawke’s Bay and Napier regions recorded overnight rainfall that was three times what it normally sees in February.
“It’s going to get soggy, soggy and devastated,” Ferris told the ABC.
“We’ve seen the worst storms right now,” Ferris added. “We have to get through today.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was briefed on the emergency response in Auckland, a city that was swamped by a record-breaking storm two weeks ago that killed four people.
Hipkins said the military had arrived in the hardest-hit northern parts of the North Island to help with evacuations and maintain the delivery of essential supplies.
“I want to acknowledge what New Zealanders saw when they woke up this morning,” Hipkins told reporters. “Many families were displaced. Many families were without power. There was widespread devastation across the country.”
Hipkins added: “It will take us a little while to figure out what’s going on and help us clean up in due course.”
Much of Auckland came to a standstill on Monday as train services were cancelled, libraries and most schools closed and authorities asked people to only make essential travel.
Air New Zealand has canceled all domestic flights to and from Auckland as of Tuesday morning, as well as many international flights. Some international routes will continue to operate, although they may need to be diverted from Auckland, airline officials said. The airline has also canceled domestic flights to and from the cities of Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo.
Air New Zealand has canceled more than 500 flights in total. The airline said more than 10,000 international customers were affected, with thousands still needing to be rebooked. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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