15 Feb. () –
At least three people have died in New Zealand after the passage of cyclone ‘Gabrielle’ that has forced the evacuation of 10,500 people and has destroyed hundreds of infrastructure in the country.
The New Zealand Emergencies Minister, Kieran McAnulty, has confirmed the death of the victims, while warning that the balance may increase in the coming hours because the emergency services continue to carry out rescues and searches in various places, reports the RNZ radio station. .
“I want to make it very clear that it is not an expectation, it is a concern that I constantly have, we are talking about an unprecedented massive climatic phenomenon,” said the head of the portfolio, referring to the number of deaths.
Emergency services have recovered the lifeless body of a person in the town of Muriwai, on the west coast of New Zealand, where they were looking for a volunteer firefighter who had been trapped by the rains.
On the other hand, two people have died in the north of Hawke’s Bay, in the east of the country, one of them when their home collapsed, and the second was found on the seashore.
McAnulty has indicated that the cyclone has moved away from the country’s coast, so “the worst of the storm is over”, despite the fact that he has warned that they are “not yet” out of danger.
The Government of New Zealand declared a state of emergency at the national level on Tuesday due to the passage of cyclone ‘Gabrielle’ through the country, with the aim of “assisting in the response” to this “unprecedented meteorological phenomenon that is having significant repercussions “.
Thousands of people were evacuated this Monday in various locations on the Coromandel Peninsula, in the North Island of New Zealand, due to the floods caused by the arrival of cyclone ‘Gabrielle’, with no information on fatalities for the moment.
