The government of New Zealand on Sunday February 12 urged residents to take shelter and prepare to evacuate their homes as Cyclone Gabrielle approaches, expected on the northern tip of the archipelago.
“Our main message to people across the country is: take the severe weather warning seriously and make sure you are prepared,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told reporters.
"Make sure you have your first aid kits, make sure you know where you need to go in case you have to evacuate your homes," he added.
Nearly 58,000 homes are already without electricity.
The New Zealand Meteorological Office measured wind gusts of up to 140 km / h in the north of the country on Sunday morning and predicted torrential rain.
"Given the position and intensity of Gabrielle, this system poses a very high risk of severe, severe and unprecedented weather conditions over many parts of the North Island from Sunday through Tuesday." he warned.
The cyclone is expected to weaken and track slowly south on Monday and Tuesday.
Auckland already hit by bad weather in January
This cyclone hits northern New Zealand two weeks after devastating floods in the same region.
The state of emergency remains in effect in Auckland, the country's largest city (1.6 million inhabitants), after this disaster which killed four people and forced thousands of people to leave their homes.
The bridge across Auckland Harbor was closed on Sunday and most flights scheduled for Monday have already been cancelled.
Cyclone Gabrielle swept through Australia's Norfolk Island overnight from Saturday to Sunday, causing trees to fall and power outages but no significant damage, according to media reports.
with AFP
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