Australia to send disaster experts to New Zealand to help with relief after Gabrielle hit

Australia announced on Friday the shipment of disaster specialists A New Zealand to help with rescue tasks after the passage of the Hurricane Gabrielle who left at least seven dead.

The 25 Australian experts, who will assist the New Zealand emergency services, will be deployed in the next 24 hours on the north islanda region heavily affected by Gabrielle, which made landfall last Sunday in the far north of the country.

“We are sending some of our best response and rescue experts to help our friends in New Zealand.“, said in a press release the Australian Minister for Emergency Management, Murray Wattadding that “unfortunately” his country has specialized in these disasters.

Amid the frantic work of rescue, recovery, restoring services and delivering humanitarian aid, New Zealand authorities on Friday reduced the death toll from the disaster from five to seven, including a two-year-old boy and two volunteer firefighters.

This figure is feared to rise because police have received reports that they have not been able to contact more than 3,500 peoplealthough they hope this is due to problems in the telecommunication systems which were damaged by Gabrielle.

As a “precautionary” measure, the authorities have set up two temporal morgues in the region of Hawke’s Bay to ‘ensure deaths can be handled with care and respect, and in accordance with forensic procedures,’ a police spokesperson told New Zealand’s public broadcaster TVNZ.

However, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Chris Hipkinsinsisted that “there is no point” in speculating on the death toll, promising to “provide the information as soon as we are able to do so”, he said from Port View, to Hawke’s Bay, on his second visit to the disaster area.

New Zealand said on Tuesday national emergency in the regions and districts of Auckland, Northland, Tairāwhiti, Bay of Plenty Region, Opotiki, Whakatane, Waikato, Thames-Coromandel, Hauraki, Tararua, Napier and Hastingsand activated the maximum level of response to an emergency.

Gabrielle, who suddenly changed course over the weekend and avoided the Norfolk Islands, made landfall on the north island last Sunday, although it was immediately lowered from category 2 cyclone (out of a maximum of 5) to strong tropical storm.

Four days of high winds and rain caused landslides and flooding that damaged island roads, caused power outages and destroyed cellphone towers.

This Thursday, the city of Napieron the east coast, was left again isolated after experts detected damage to a bridge that connects its 65,000 inhabitantss with the rest of the country.

The authorities have asked isolated residents not to leave their homes unless it is “absolutely essential” and to limit water consumption.

Those who go out must walk between the muddy water in search of provisions or addressing the buildings that still have wifi to contact their relatives.

The ace gas stations of the city have signs advising that “no fuelexcept for emergency services.

The ace defense force The New Zealanders sent two large ships and a transport plane C-130 Hercules to deliver thousands of liters of water and water treatment plants to affected areas.

(With information from EFE and AFP)

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