02/19/2023 2:31 pm (act. 02/19/2023 02:31 pm)
28,000 homes still without electricity ©APA/AFP
The death toll has risen to eleven after the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand. In the face of destruction, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins prepared the population for a difficult reconstruction. “There is no doubt that as a country we have a steep mountain ahead of us and we will climb it together,” he said on Sunday in the capital Wellington.
The infrastructure in the Pacific country must be improved and made even more resilient. This will take its toll. At least 11 people died in the storm, the prime minister confirmed. The number could still rise, but officials had no indication that there could be significantly more deaths, Hipkins said, according to media reports.
Police and civil protection announced on Saturday that there were serious concerns about ten people missing. Some 3,000 people have yet to be contacted, but communication has yet to be re-established everywhere. In addition, around 28,000 homes are still without electricity.
The tropical storm hit the country on Monday and caused severe damage across large parts of the North Island with hurricane-force winds and heavy rain. The Hawke’s Bay region was particularly hard hit. Many houses, roads and bridges were destroyed, and power and communication lines were damaged.
Sometimes, the water was so high in some areas that only the roofs of the houses came out of the water. When the water left, masses of mud remained on many buildings. The government had already declared a national emergency on Tuesday – for just the third time in the history of the Pacific state, which has about five million people.