Cyclone Gabrielle Has Killed Three People After New Zealand Declares a State of Emergency

Cyclone Gabrielle has battered New Zealand, trapping people on roofs, displacing thousands, and destroying homes in what officials have described as an "unprecedented" natural disaster.

Cyclone Gabrielle worst storm to hit New Zealand

(Photo : STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Officials said on Tuesday afternoon that about 2,500 people had been displaced so far, but that number could change because there are still large areas that are inaccessible and without telecommunications, according to The Guardian. 

On Tuesday, the country declared a state of emergency as the extent of the storm's damage became clear.

The emergency management minister, Kieran McAnulty, said Gabrielle was "an unprecedented weather event".

A national state of emergency has been declared for the third time in New Zealand's history.

The designation means that the national government will be able to send resources across the country to help with civil defense efforts.

Flood waters rose to envelop homes and buildings in some areas, with people in Hawke's Bay seeking refuge on roofs because military helicopters were unable to reach them due to the weather.

Landslides swept away homes and cut off state highways throughout the North Island.

Adrianne Mason of Hawke's Bay's Esk Valley said her 22-year-old daughter had to climb out of her bedroom window in the middle of the night and swim to safety as flood waters rose, and neighbors were trapped on their roof by rising water.

They have fled to safety in a home on higher ground, but rescuers cannot reach them because the river has washed out roads.

The flooding was "catastrophic," according to Mason.

Their newly constructed home had been submerged, and other properties along the river had "lost their houses completely," she said.

On the East Cape, a farmer in Tolaga Bay described enormous destruction as floods carried "300kg logs, huge logs, one after another, rolling off the forestry up above us".

Assessing the extent of the damage was proving extremely difficult on Tuesday, with a number of regions completely cut off, and there were no formal numbers on people evacuated, injured, or homes destroyed so far.

The cyclone comes on the heels of devastating flooding in Auckland and Northland a fortnight ago, which caused extensive damage.

"This is climate change," said James Shaw, the climate change minister, of the cyclone's devastation.

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Three dead after a declared state of emergency

The cyclone weakened and moved away from the North Island on Wednesday. However, many people are still displaced, as per the BBC.

After rivers burst their banks, some people were forced to swim to safety. Some people have been rescued from rooftops.

A quarter-million people are without electricity. Houses have been smashed by falling trees, and landslides have carried others away and blocked roads.

The storm caused the most damage to coastal communities on the far north and east coasts of the North Island, with Hawke's Bay, Coromandel, and Northland among the hardest hit.

After a river burst its banks, communications to one town in the region were completely cut off.

Civil defense officials in the region said they were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the damage. Australia and the United Kingdom have both offered assistance.

Two deaths were confirmed in the Hawke's Bay area on Wednesday.

Authorities also announced the discovery of the body of a missing firefighter who was caught in a landslide in Muriwai, west of Auckland.

According to rescue agencies, a second firefighter was critically injured.

Marcelle Smith, whose family lives in a cliff-front property in Parua Bay on the east coast of the North Island, told the BBC on Monday night that she had fled inland with her two young children.

According to local media, some Hawke's Bay residents were forced to swim through bedroom windows to escape as waters flooded their homes.

People have been warned that they may be without power for several weeks.

Aerial photographs of flooded areas showed people stranded on rooftops, awaiting rescue.

The destruction is massive, with uprooted trees, bent street lights and poles, and row after row of flooded homes.

The New Zealand Defence Force released dramatic images of officials rescuing a stranded sailor whose yacht was swept out to sea after its anchor cable snapped in high winds.

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