(Auckland) The New Zealand government declared a state of emergency on Tuesday across the archipelago hit by a violent cyclone which deprived more than 100,000 people of electricity and caused floods and landslides.
This “unprecedented meteorological event”, according to the authorities, resulted in the night from Monday to Tuesday by violent winds and abundant precipitation on the North Island.
“The damage is considerable across the country,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said at a press conference in Auckland.
“Many families have been displaced, many homes are without electricity,” he added.
Houses were damaged by falling trees or invaded by mud and rubbish. Some inhabitants thus found themselves totally isolated, the roads being cut following landslides or floods.
According to local media, people were forced to swim from their homes in order to find safety.
PHOTO DIEGO OPATOWSKI, FRANCE-PRESSE AGENCY
A damaged road in Titirangi, a suburb of Auckland
“Around midnight, we received an emergency message asking us to evacuate,” recalls Jane Scott, a resident of the coastal community of Muriwai, who carried a torch and some essentials before to take refuge in a local community centre.
“It was pitch dark” and kept raining, she told local TVNZ channel. “It was very scary.”
This cyclone caused wind gusts of up to 140 km/h, an accumulation of precipitation of up to 20 cm in 24 hours and waves of eleven meters.
Mr Hipkins said it is still “too early to say” how many people have been evacuated from their homes and are without electricity or phone coverage.
Electricity suppliers have estimated that more than 100,000 people no longer have access to electricity.
“Huge impact”
“These are unprecedented bad weather conditions that are having a huge impact” in the north of the country, said Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty, with “large-scale flooding, landslides, roads and other damaged infrastructure”.
It is only the third time New Zealand has declared a state of emergency, following the Christchurch bombings in 2019 and the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
“This is a major disaster (which represents) a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders,” warned Mr. McAnulty, adding that a national state of emergency was declared for seven days.
He said further rains and strong winds are expected on Tuesday, complicating relief operations.
“Emergency services are working day and night, but unstable ground, flood waters and closed roads complicate matters,” McAnulty said.
New Zealand Fire and Rescue Services said one firefighter is missing and another is in critical condition after a house collapsed in West Auckland.
The cyclone grounded planes and airline Air New Zealand said travel for some 35,000 of its international customers was disrupted, with 592 flights cancelled.
Mr. Hipkins pledged aid of 11.5 million New Zealand dollars (6.8 million euros) to help with the repairs.
Auckland, the country’s largest city with 1.6 million people, is barely recovering from flash floods that killed four people in late January and forced thousands from their homes.
New Zealand has entered an era of ‘cascading’ natural disasters, which sees the consequences of repeated severe weather events build up over time, according to Christine Kenney, a disaster risk reduction specialist at Massey University. .
“Cascading natural disasters, fueled by climate change, represent the new normal for Auckland,” she said.