4 Killed in Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand

Wellington (New Zealand): New Zealand government has said that at least four people, including a child, have died in the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle. The Cyclone has caused significant flooding and landslides across the North Island. However, Gabrielle has moved away from New Zealand but about 10,500 people were still displaced.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has called Gabrielle the biggest weather event to hit the country in the past century.  He said it is estimated to affect at least a third of the country’s five million population.

The rain has ceased in most parts, but many remote towns and areas remain cut off by high floodwaters and a lack of power. The storm’s damage has been most extensive in coastal communities on the far north and east coast of the North Island.

Areas like Hawke’s Bay, Coromandel and Northland were among the worst hit. Meanwhile, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake was widely felt across the country late yesterday. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which struck off the coast of the North Island near the capital Wellington.