Thousands left without power as Cyclone Gabrielle lashes New Zealand

• Authorities have issued severe weather warnings.
• New Zealand is considering imposing a national state of emergency for the third time in the country’s history.
• Many schools and local government buildings are closed across Auckland and the North Island.

Cyclone Gabrielle has knocked out power to 46,000 houses in New Zealand‘s north.

Authorities have issued severe weather warnings, and hundreds of flights have been canceled.

As Gabrielle approaches the North Island, some areas have declared a state of emergency.

It comes only weeks after record rains in Auckland and adjacent areas caused floods and killed four people.

“Extreme weather event has come on the back of extreme weather event,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who announced an NZ$11.5m (£6m; US$7.3m) aid package.

“Things are likely to get worse before they get better.”

Kieran McAnulty, minister of emergency management, said during a press conference on Monday that the government is considering imposing a national state of emergency for the third time in the country’s history.

Five northern regions, including Auckland, have already declared a state of emergency. The declaration empowers local governments to respond to unsafe conditions by restricting travel and providing relief.

Metservice in New Zealand reported that Whangarei, a city north of Auckland, has received 100.5mm (4in) of rain in the previous 12 hours.

Mr. McAnulty added that Monday would be a “critical day” due to the “highly dangerous” combination of high winds and heavy rain. Winds of up to 140km/h (87mph) battered the Northland region, while Auckland Harbour Bridge was rocked by gusts of 110km/h.

He cautioned that restoring the electricity grid may take days because the terrible weather rendered it “unsafe” to work on the network.

Weather officials had earlier downgraded Gabrielle’s intensity, but Metservice in its latest update on Monday said it will still bring “significant heavy rain and potentially damaging winds”.

Despite the fact that the cyclone has yet to make landfall, it has already uprooted trees, damaged roads, and brought down power lines.

Many schools and local government buildings are closed across Auckland and the North Island, and people are being advised not to travel if at all possible.

Meanwhile, 509 flights were canceled, affecting around 10,000 overseas Air New Zealand passengers.

Normal service is anticipated to resume on Tuesday, with the national carrier adding 11 more domestic flights to its schedule to aid in recovery efforts.

The cyclone is the second major weather event to strike Auckland and the North Island in as many weeks.

According to authorities, the two huge occurrences have strained the emergency and recovery response system.

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