New Zealand declares state of emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle batters North Island

National state of emergency will last seven days as continued bad weather hampers rescue effort

Huge waves from Cyclone Gabrielle hit the Goat Island Marine Reserve on February 13 near Auckland, New Zealand. Getty

New Zealand has declared a state of emergency after a tropical storm lashed the North Island in what officials have called an unprecedented natural disaster.

Emergency services have struggled to cope after heavy rain and strong winds left 225,000 tens of thousands of people without power, leading Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty to sign the declaration.

"This is an unprecedented weather event that is having major impacts across much of the North Island," Mr McAnulty said.

"We are all facing extensive floods, slips, damaged roads and infrastructure."

Architect Lars von Minden, 50, lives in Muriwai, a beach town on the coast west of Auckland.

"I've seldom seen anything like it," he told Reuters by phone. "There are three or four areas where there are just these massive slips, some of them 300 metres across, that have come down, taking out houses and roads and everything."

This is only the third time New Zealand has declared a state of emergency. The other two were the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks and 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

Floodwater and landslides have cut off many settlements across the country, including some near Auckland, New Zealand's largest city.

"This is a significant disaster with a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders," said Mr McAnulty, adding that the national state of emergency would last seven days.

Waves crash against a sea wall at an Auckland beach as Cyclone Gabrielle hits the upper parts of New Zealand. AP

Clifftop houses near a slip caused by continuous bad weather in Auckland. Reuters

New Zealand's national airline has cancelled dozens of flights as Aucklanders brace for a deluge from Cyclone Gabrielle. AP

Cars negotiate flooded roads in the northern New Zealand city of Whangarei. AP

Sand bags are placed along the coastline as Cyclone Gabrielle buffets the Coromandel, south of Auckland. AP

A man stands on a breakwater with his bike along the waterfront in Auckland. AP

Stranded passengers wait outside Auckland Airport after flights were cancelled. AP

Passengers wait in departure lounges at Auckland Airport. AP

Cyclone Gabrielle comes just two weeks after a record-breaking storm swamped the nation's largest city and killed several people. AP

Planes wait on the tarmac at Auckland Airport after flights were cancelled. AP

Flooded roads in the northern New Zealand city of Whangarei. AP

He said more rain and high winds were expected on Tuesday hampering rescue efforts.

"The reports that came in overnight are deeply concerning," Mr McAnulty said.

"The emergency services are working night and day, but the unstable ground, floodwaters and closed roads are making things hard."

The New Zealand Fire and Emergency services said a firefighter is missing and another is in a critical condition after a house collapsed in West Auckland.

"It's been a tough night for the North Island as a whole but it's been especially tough for fire and emergency," said Kerry Gregory, chief executive of the fire service.

Mr McAnulty said his thoughts are with the two firefighters and urged New Zealanders to think of "safety first", with some communities evacuated.

Media reported one person was missing after a house had slid down a hill in Hawke's Bay, while the fire and emergency service said a volunteer firefighter was still in a house that had been swept downhill in a landslide.

Local media published photographs and video of people sitting on top of buildings surrounded by flood water, of houses swept to the bottom of hills by landslides and of roads under water.

A New Zealand warship rescued a person from a yacht that turned on its emergency beacon this morning off the east coast.

The weather grounded flights on Monday, but Air New Zealand has said it expects some services to resume on Tuesday afternoon.

Cyclone Gabrielle hits New Zealand - video

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced an aid package of 11.5 million New Zealand dollars ($7.25 million) to help recovery efforts, but Mr McAnulty said the cost of the clean-up is set to surge.

"The honest answer is that it's not going to be cheap, but that isn't what we are worried about right now," he said.

Australia and Britain had pledged support, he added.

Auckland, home to 1.6 million people, had already been struggling to mop up the damage after flooding claimed four lives at the end of January.

The national emergency management agency estimated 58,000 people across the North Island were without electricity on Monday as work continued to reconnect power.