A national state of emergency has been declared in New Zealand, after a night of extreme weather from Cyclone Gabrielle cut off towns across the North Island.
Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty declared a national state of emergency at 8.43am this morning.
It’s only the third time a NZ government has declared a national state of emergency.
The previous declarations came for the Christchurch earthquakes and COVID-19 pandemic.
McAnulty hosted a press conference at the Beehive, NZ’s parliament building, this morning.
He said the declaration would apply to the six regions that had declared a local state of emergency: Northland, Auckland, Tairāwhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Hawke’s Bay.
“The local leadership, CDEM groups, and emergency responders in all of the affected areas have been doing an outstanding job, but the widespread damage caused by this cyclone means we need a national declaration to support them,” he said.
“A National State of Emergency gives the National Controller legal authority to apply resources across the country in support of a national level response.”
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Last night saw widespread damage across the North Island as Cyclone Gabrielle moved closer.
A landslide trapped two firefighters overnight in Muriwai, West Auckland, one was rescued and was in a critical condition in hospital this morning, while another remained unaccounted for.
The East Coast and Gisborne were cut off entirely.
Power, road, rail, cellphone and Internet connections were cut to Gisborne, hampering emergency responses in the east coast city.
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In Hawke’s Bay, Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise reported all of Napier and Hastings were without power today.
Multiple people were also trapped in flooded houses and on cars along State Highway 5, in Eskdale Valley, Hastings, according to the Fire Service.
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