Cyclone Gabrielle leaves thousands without power in New Zealand as Auckland grinds to a halt

Residents of Auckland and the surrounding area are being told to brace for more heavy rain. Video Credit: NEWSHUB, TVNZ

Tens of thousands of homes have lost power after Cyclone Gabrielle lashed the north of New Zealand, as rising flood waters prompted evacuations in at-risk areas.

Much of Auckland - New Zealand's largest city - ground to a halt 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.

Overall, the airline cancelled more than 500 flights, and over 10,000 international customers had been affected, with thousands still to be rebooked.

The cyclone, which forced many roads to close, cut power to about 58,000 households - some 46,000 homes remained without power on Monday.

In Auckland, around 50 apartments were evacuated amid concerns that an old steel framed tower could collapse. Due to a forecasted storm surge on Tuesday morning, more evacuations have been issued at beachside communities on the east coast.

Nearing the country's coast, Cyclone Gabrielle is sitting around 125 miles north-east of Auckland, but is expected to move close to the east coast within the next day.

"We expect the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle to get, unfortunately, worse before they get better," Rachel Kelleher, Deputy Controller Auckland Emergency Management, said on Monday.

"It's not the time to be complacent," she added.

Authorities declared a state of emergency in Northland, Auckland and some other regions, and were asking some residents in low-lying areas to evacuate.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the weather had made the start of the year "incredibly challenging” for people in Auckland and other northern areas. “Extreme weather event has come on the back of extreme weather event,” Hipkins said. “For families and businesses, I know that that has been just exhausting, and I want to acknowledge how hard many of them are doing it.”

It comes weeks after Auckland and surrounding areas were hit by torrential rainfall that triggered floods and killed four people.

Two weeks ago, Aucklanders experienced the wettest day ever recorded in the city, as the amount of rain that would typically fall over an entire summer hit in a single day.

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