The passage of Cyclone Gabrielle in the North Island of New Zealand left at least four dead and more than 10,500 displaced people, according to data released this Wednesday by the authorities of the oceanic country, which continue with the rescue and help to the population affected by the disaster.
The Minister for Emergency Management, Kieran McAnulty, reported today at a press conference in Wellington the deaths of three people in Hawke Bay, on the east coast of the North Island and one of the areas most affected by the natural disaster.
McAnulty also confirmed the discovery of an as-yet-unidentified body, though it is believed to belong to a volunteer firefighter who was trapped in an Auckland home on Monday after a landslide.
“The thing that has affected me the most, to be honest, is the trapped volunteer firefighter. It’s an absolute tragedy,” he said.
The minister further indicated that some 10,500 people have been displaced from their homes, including 9,000 residents of Hawke’s Bay.
Until this Wednesday, the emergency services, with the help of some 250 New Zealand soldiers, have rescued hundreds of people, including some 300 who were evacuated by air in an operational complex after they took refuge on the roofs to flee the floods.
In its wake, Gabrielle has left a trail of destruction to the infrastructure of the North Island, the most populous in the country, and tens of thousands of people without power, in addition to causing damage to roads and communications.
It will also force the official tour of Princess Ana, sister of King Carlos III, to be modified, who arrives in New Zealand with her husband.
The country declared a national emergency yesterday in the regions and districts of Auckland, Northland, Tairwhiti, Bay of Plenty Region, Ptiki, Whakatne, Waikato, Thames-Coromandel, Hauraki, Tararua, Napier and Hastings, and activated the maximum response level. to an emergency.
Gabrielle – which suddenly changed course over the weekend and avoided passing through the Australian-administered Norfolk Islands – made landfall on the North Island last Sunday, although it was immediately downgraded from a category 2 cyclone (out of a maximum of 5). a strong tropical storm.
Gabrielle continues to move south today away from the New Zealand coast, although the country is not “out of the woods” yet, McAnulty stressed.
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