New Zealand declared a national state of emergency Tuesday as Cyclone Gabrielle
swept away roads, inundated homes, and left more than 225,000 people without
power.
regions – which includes Auckland, the largest city.
The storm’s damage has been most extensive in coastal communities on the far north
and east coast of the North Island – with spots like Hawkes Bay, Coromandel and
Northland is among the worst hit.
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Her husband had remained behind to set up protections for the home.
Some embankments set up had already been washed away and they were still battling
wild weather on Tuesday.
“We are trying to do everything we can to protect what we have put our lives into. It’s
man versus nature at this point,” she told the BBC.
The New Zealand Fire and Emergency services said a firefighter is missing and
another is in critical condition after a house collapsed in West Auckland.
“It’s been a tough night for the North Island as a whole, but it’s been especially tough
for fire and emergency,” said Kerry Gregory, chief executive of the fire service.
New Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins said his thoughts are with the two
firefighters involved and urged New Zealanders’ to put “safety first”.
Hipkins has promised an aid package of 11.5 million New Zealand dollars ($7.25
million) to help recovery efforts, but McAnulty admitted the cost of the clean-up was
set to spiral.
“The honest answer is that it’s not going to be cheap, but that isn’t what we are
worried about right now,” he said.
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