News Desk
WELLINGTON: An overwhelmed New Zealand has said it is open to offers of international assistance as it scrambles with the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, which caused massive flooding and landslides in the country’s north and cut off several areas in the country.
Five people have died so far, around 100 are missing and 10,500 others have been displaced in the disaster that has crippled the country’s populous North Island.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Thursday warned that recovery would take time, with power restoration in some areas not expected till weeks and the cleanup likely to take much longer.
“This is a traumatic event,” he said. “It is a very big challenge to restore infrastructure as fast as we can but we have to acknowledge that we are in for a bumpy ride.”
After initially setting aside help offers from the United States and other countries, he added: “We are accepting offers of international assistance.
Four days of violent winds and rains caused landslides and widespread flooding that suspended the island’s road network, led to rolling power cuts and knocked down hundreds of cell phone towers.
The east-coast city of Napier was cut off again on Thursday after experts detected damage to the last useable bridge that linked its 65,000 residents with the rest of the country.
Authorities have urged isolated residents not to leave their homes unless “absolutely essential” and to restrict water use.
Petrol stations around the city have put up signs declaring there is “NO FUEL” for anyone other than emergency services.
NZDF providing assistance to hard-hit areas
The New Zealand Defence Force has deployed a C-130 Hercules transport plane and two large ships to deliver thousands of litres of water along with personnel and mobile water treatment plants to the most severely-affected regions.
It has also used helicopters for delivering supplies and rescuing hundreds of victims stranded on their rooftops.
