Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Cyclone Gabrielle: New Zealand declares national state of emergency

New Zealand’s prime minister said Cyclone Gabrielle, which has pummeled much of the North Island, is a weather event not seen “in a generation”.
Chris Hipkins’ government has declared a state of emergency — only the third in New Zealand’s history. 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.

Communications to one town in the region have been completely cut after a river burst its banks.

Civil Defense authorities in Hawke’s Bay said they couldn’t cope with the scale of the damage. Australia and the UK have pledged to help.

A firefighter remains missing after being caught in a landslide in Muriwai, west of Auckland. A second firefighter involved was critically injured, rescue agencies said.

Marcelle Smith, whose family lives in a cliff-front property in Parua Bay on the east coast of the North Island, told the BBC she had fled inland with her two young children on Monday night.

Her husband remained behind to set up protections for their 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.

Local media have reported that some residents in Hawke’s Bay had to swim through bedroom windows to escape as waters flooded their homes. People have been warned they could be without power for weeks.

Aerial pictures of flooded regions showed people stranded on rooftops waiting for rescue.

The vast scale of the damage includes uprooted trees, bent streetlights and poles, and row after row of flooded homes.

New Zealand’s Defense Force released dramatic pictures of officials rescuing a stranded sailor, whose yacht was swept out to sea when its anchor cable snapped amid strong winds.

“The severity and the damage that we are seeing has not been experienced in a generation,” Hipkins said on Tuesday.

“We are still building a picture of the effects of the cyclone as it continues to unfold. But what we do know is the impact is significant and it is widespread.”

He has pledged NZ$11.5 million (£6 million; $7.3 million) in aid to support those affected by the disaster.

Declaring the national state of emergency on Tuesday morning, the Minister for Emergency Management, Kieran McAnulty, described the storm as “unprecedented”.

The emergency order enables the government to streamline its response to the disaster. It has been applied to the Northland, Auckland, Tairawhiti, Tararua, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay regions.

New Zealand has only previously declared a national state of emergency on two occasions — during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

The government has attributed the scale of the disaster to climate change.

“The severity of it, of course, [is] made worse by the fact that our global temperatures have already increased by 1.1 degrees,” said climate change minister James Shaw.

“We need to stop making excuses for inaction. We cannot put our heads in the sand when the beach is flooding. We must act now.”

Cyclone Gabrielle has hit New Zealand just two weeks after unprecedented downpours and flooding in the same region, which killed four people.

The MetService says conditions are expected to clear in coming days, and heavy rain warnings are being lifted for some parts of the country. But it has warned that wind could still cause further damage.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×