New Zealand declares emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle eases
Wellington, Feb 14: The New Zealand government declared a national state of emergency Tuesday after Cyclone Gabrielle battered the country's north, leaving widespread flooding and destruction.
A firefighter was missing and another was rescued with critical injuries after they were caught in a landslide overnight near the country's largest city, Auckland, local media reported.
Auckland was swamped two weeks ago by a record-breaking storm that killed four people.
The national emergency declaration enables the government to support affected regions and provide additional resources, Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said.
The country was lashed by intense rainfall overnight that forced evacuations and brought widespread flooding, road closures and power outages to more than 60,000 homes.
"This is a significant disaster with a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders," McAnulty told reporters in the capital Wellington.
The national state of emergency includes six regions where local emergencies had already been declared. They are Auckland, as well as the regions of Northland, Tairawhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke's Bay.
A weather station in the Hawke's Bay and Napier region recorded three times more rain overnight than usually falls for the entire month of February, MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said.
"It's going to be wet, sodden devastation around there," Ferris said.
"We've seen the worst of the storm now," Ferris added. "We've just got to get through today."
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the military was already on the ground on the hardest-hit northern reaches of the North Island helping with evacuations and keeping essential supplies moving.
"I want to acknowledge the situation New Zealanders have been waking up to this morning," Hipkins told reporters. "A lot of families displaced. A lot of homes without power. Extensive damage done across the country."
"It will take us a wee while to get a handle on exactly what's happened and, in due course, helping with the clean-up when we get to that point," Hipkins added.
Much of Auckland ground to a halt Monday as train services were cancelled, libraries and most schools were closed, and authorities asked people to make only essential trips.
Air New Zealand cancelled all domestic flights to and from Auckland through Tuesday morning, as well as many international flights. Some international routes would continue operating, airline officials said, although they might need to be diverted from Auckland. The carrier also cancelled domestic flights to and from the cities of Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo.
In all, Air New Zealand cancelled more than 500 flights. More than 10,000 international customers had been affected, the airline said, with thousands still to be rebooked.
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Wildfires race across Chile, leaving 15 dead, forcing thousands to flee
Penco (Chile) (AP): Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 15 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed scores of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country's central Biobio region and the neighbouring Nuble region, around 500 kilometres south of Santiago, the capital.
The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein in two dozen wildfires that have so far blazed through 8,500 hectares and prompted 50,000 people to evacuate, according to Chilean Security Minister Luis Cordero.
“All resources are available,” Boric wrote on X.
But local officials reported that for hours on Sunday, destruction was everywhere and help from the federal government was nowhere.
“Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence,” said Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region. “How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”
Firefighters were struggling to extinguish the flames, but strong winds and scorching weather hampered their efforts Sunday with temperatures topping 38 C (100 F).
Residents said that the fires took them by surprise after midnight, trapping them in their homes.
“Many people didn't evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzman, 55, surveying the scene in Penco, where smoke blanketed the sky in an orange haze. “It was completely out of control. No one expected it."
Although the total number of homes burned nationwide remained unclear, one municipality of Concepcion in Biobio reported 253 homes destroyed.
“We fled running, with the kids, in the dark,” said Juan Lagos, 52, also in Penco. The fire engulfed most of the city, burning cars, a school and a church.
Charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars.
“From what we can see, there are people who died ... and we knew them well," said Víctor Burboa, 54. "Everyone here knew them.”
