Cyclone Gabrielle: New Zealand sets up temporary morgues after storm
Two temporary morgues have been set up in New Zealand’s north island as the death toll from the country’s worst weather event in decades climbed to eight.
Police said more than 4,500 people had been registered as “uncontactable” but they cautioned that this could be because lack of access to communications networks.
Temporary mortuaries have been established in the towns of Napier and Hastings where the full impact of Cyclone Gabrielle was felt earlier this week.
A police spokesman said the move was “standard practice” as a precaution to ensure that any fatalities could be managed with care and respect.
The Royal Navy staged a dramatic rescue for a 70-year-old sailor who was on board a catamaran when the cyclone hit.
The unnamed sailor drifted out to sea in Hauraki Gulf near Auckland when his anchor broke as Cyclone Gabrielle closed in.
Attempts to airlift him to safety by helicopter failed because of the extreme weather conditions, forcing naval personnel to launch a small boat from the frigate.
Commodore Garin Golding said sea conditions had been “challenging and everybody involved was now pleased the person was now safe on board the ship.”
A team of 25 Australian disaster response experts flew into New Zealand on Friday to assist in the country’s recovery.
The newly-appointed prime minister Chris Hipkins said New Zealanders should be braced for the death toll to climb.
“We do need to brace ourselves for the fact there are likely to be more fatalities from this across the country,” Mr Hipkins said.
“And the true extent of that we won’t know for a while,” he added.
The prime minister described it as the “worst natural disaster that we’ve probably seen this century.”
“The scale of the damage is considerable because it covers such a large geographical area.”
Truck convoys carrying essential supplies continued to make their way to isolated areas while ships and aircraft ferried food and equipment to areas along the north island’s east coast.
Cyclone Gabrielle has left a trail of damage since it hit New Zealand on Monday, cutting off towns and washing away farms and livestock along much of the east coast.
