WEATHER
New Zealand declares emergency after Cyclone Gabrielle
February 14, 2023 - New Zealand declared a national state of emergency for only the third time in its history on Tuesday after Cyclone Gabrielle swept through the country’s north.
About a third of the country’s population of five million people live in affected areas.
Many people are displaced and some were forced to swim from their homes to safety after rivers burst their banks.
Others have been rescued from rooftops.
About a quarter of a million people are without power. Falling trees have smashed houses, and landslides have carried others away and blocked roads.
The storm’s damage has been most extensive in coastal communities on the far north and east coast of the North Island – with areas like Hawke's Bay, Coromandel and Northland among the worst hit, the BBC said.