Some regions remained cut off from all access, power and communications as the tropical storm moved away from the country, leaving more than 10,000 people displaced.
Roads and houses have been submerged by flooding, while key state highways have been closed by landslides.
National State of Emergency
The New Zealand government has declared a national state of emergency for only the third time in the country’s history.
The other two occasions followed the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Brad Olsen of New Zealand economic consultancy Infometrics said the difference between Cyclone Gabrielle and the January Auckland floods was that the flooding had been in a limited area and resources could be directed there.
‘Now we have to direct resources across the entirety of the North Island,’ Olsen said.
Napier and Gisborne still closed
Kevin O’Sullivan, CEO of the New Zealand Cruise Association, said most ports apart from Napier and Gisborne are now open.
‘Port calls cancelled in one location meant that cruise ships were diverted to other ports in most cases,’ O’Sullivan said.
Cruise lines offer help
Both Carnival Australia and Royal Caribbean International have offered to carry supplies from Australia for the stricken regions in their ships crossing the Tasman.
‘It is a very generous offer from these lines that are fully committed to the well-being of the communities they visit,’ O’Sullivan said.
‘There is still some work to be done to determine how best to use cruise ships in the terrible situation we now see in Napier, Gisborne and parts of the east coast of the North Island.
‘Once this is sorted by the Emergency Management team, cruise ships will be able to help in a meaningful way.’
Update adds information about cruise lines rendering assistance
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