Cyclone in New Zealand: reconstruction is expected to cost “billions of dollars”


February 13 in the suburb of Arkles Bay in Auckland (New Zealand). John Longson/Twitter @JohnLongso/REUTERS

Due to flooding and high winds, homes, bridges and roads have been damaged across the country. The death toll is 11.

New Zealand estimated on Monday that “billions of dollarswill likely be needed to recover from Cyclone Gabrielle which hit it last week and killed 11 people, according to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

New Zealand’s prime minister says the death toll could rise as police are still trying to contact some 2,300 people after flash floods and high winds in the North Island damaged homes , bridges or roads across the country. “Our thoughts are with the families and communities bereaved (by the loss) of loved ones.added Chris Hipkins.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson on Monday promised aid of NZ$300 million (175 million euros), while predicting that the total cost of the repairs will cost “billions of dollarsto taxpayers. “We have a lot of work ahead of us“, warned Grant Robertson, appointed by Chris Hipkins to the post of minister in charge of reconstruction, “but we have the means and the will to do it“.

According to the New Zealand Prime Minister, 15,000 homes are still without electricity on the North Island, mainly in the coastal towns of Gisborne (east) and Napier (east), where floods have affected many homes. The national state of emergency, declared last week for the third time in New Zealand’s history, has been extended for a further seven days, Chris Hipkins has announced.


TO HAVE ALSO – Cyclone Gabrielle: ‘The most significant weather phenomenon of the century’ in New Zealand



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