Tropical storm “Gabrielle” has not only wreaked havoc in New Zealand, but has also claimed several lives since Monday, according to government sources. One of the fatalities was a firefighter who was buried in a landslide. A child is also among the dead. The tropical cyclone has also left thousands of people homeless in New Zealand. New Zealand was hit by an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale on Wednesday.
The center was near the capital Wellington at a depth of about 48 kilometers in the sea, but the tremors were felt in large parts of the country. There was no tsunami warning. Nothing is known about possible injury or damage at this time. Within a short time, about 60,000 people reported on the internet that they had clearly felt the tremors, including in the largest city of Auckland and in Christchurch in the South Island, the New Zealand Herald newspaper reported. Many described the quake as “huge and frightening”. It took almost 30 seconds, they said. Eyewitnesses said they hid under tables. The US earthquake monitor USGS estimated the magnitude at 5.7.
“Gabrielle” swept across New Zealand’s North Island on Monday with winds of up to 140 kilometers per hour. The cyclone brought heavy rain and waves up to 11 meters high. In some places, the bodies of water were so high that only the roofs of houses could be seen. The emergency services were deployed with numerous helicopters to rescue people who had fled to the roofs. More than 140,000 people were still without power, according to Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty. He spoke of a “massive, unprecedented weather event,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of the “most severe weather event” in the country this century.
Bridges washed away, roads impassable
The Hawke’s Bay region of the North Island was the hardest hit. Military trucks brought about 9,000 people to safety there, Radio New Zealand reported on Wednesday. They will initially be housed in a sports center in the town of Hastings. Bridges had been blown away, roads were impassable. Some places were cut off from the outside world. According to the authorities, the worst was apparently over on Wednesday, “but we are not yet out of danger”.
Source: Krone
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