WELLINGTON, Feb 15 (Bernama) — At least four people, including a firefighter, died after severe weather battered New Zealand, police said on Wednesday.
Cyclone Gabrielle caused widespread evacuations, power outages, and damage to properties across large swathes of the country’s North Island, reported German news agency dpa.
On Wednesday, Fire and Emergency retrieved a body located under a landslide caused by the cyclone at Muriwai, near Auckland. It is believed to be that of a volunteer firefighter who has been missing since a slip collapsed a house on Monday night.
Three people also died in the hard hit region of Hawke’s Bay – the body of a young person believed to have been caught in rising water on Tuesday was recovered on Wednesday, a woman died overnight Tuesday when a bank collapsed onto her house, while a person was found dead on a beach in Napier late Tuesday.
Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty warned the death toll could rise.
“I want to be really clear it’s not an expectation, it’s a concern I constantly hold, we’re talking about a massive unprecedented weather event,” McAnulty said.
A number of towns are still completely isolated due to severe flooding and slips.
McAnulty said about 10,500 people had been displaced by the storm, while 144,000 were without power.
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said it had rescued hundreds of people from Hawke’s Bay alone, including by winching people off roofs of houses.
New Zealand police said there had been 1,442 reports made of uncontactable people, most from the eastern regions of the North Island.
“While we expect a large number of the reports to be the result of communication lines being down, Police can confirm there are several people missing in the Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti areas, for whom we have grave concerns.”
