About 46,000 homes have lost power as Cyclone Gabrielle hits the north of New Zealand.
Authorities have warned of heavy rain and wind, and hundreds of flights have been canceled.
Some places have declared a state of emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle moves closer to the North Island.
It happens just a few weeks after four people died in floods caused by record rainfall in and around Auckland.
“Extreme weather event after extreme weather event,” said New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins as he announced an aid package worth NZ$11.5m (£6m; US$7.3m).
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty told reporters on Monday that the government is thinking about declaring a national state of emergency for only the third time in the country’s history.
Five northern areas, including Auckland, have already been in a state of emergency. The declaration gives local governments more power to deal with dangerous situations, including stopping people from traveling and giving them help.
Metservice, New Zealand’s weather service, said that Whangarei, a city north of Auckland, had gotten 100.5 mm (4 inches) of rain in the past 12 hours...Read More
Source: California Gazette