forces of nature
‘Scary’ – Strong earthquake in New Zealand
People on the roof of a house in Napier wait to be taken to safety by a helicopter. photo
© Hogp/New Zealand Defense Force/AP/dpa
New Zealand is just struggling with the aftermath of tropical storm “Gabrielle” when the earth suddenly trembles. Some areas are already isolated due to massive flooding.
In New Zealand, after the storms caused by tropical cyclone “Gabrielle”, the extent of the destruction is slowly becoming clear. According to police, at least four people died, including a child and a firefighter. “Some people are still missing and the police are very concerned about them,” said Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.
Entire areas of the North Island were under water. Roads were impassable, bridges were washed away. In many places, only the roofs of houses protruded from the brown masses of water. As if that wasn’t enough, another severe earthquake shook the Pacific country on Wednesday evening (local time).
Epicenter near the capital, Wellington
The national earthquake station Geonet first gave the strength of the quake as 6.1 and later at 6.3. The center was therefore near the capital Wellington at a depth of about 50 kilometers in the sea. The US earthquake monitor USGS initially put the magnitude at 5.7.
The tremors were felt in many parts of the country. Within a short time, around 60,000 people reported feeling the tremors clearly, including in the largest city of Auckland and even in Christchurch on the South Island, the New Zealand Herald reported. Many described the quake as “massive and frightening”.
Eyewitnesses told the German Press Agency that they had sought protection under tables. Apparently, this violent natural event did not have any worse consequences: nothing was known about injuries or damage. “But Mother Earth isn’t kind to our country right now,” said a woman from Wellington. The island state of New Zealand lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, the most geologically active zone on earth.
People persevere on rooftops
Meanwhile, the emergency services were working tirelessly with numerous helicopters to rescue hundreds of people who had fled to their rooftops because of the tropical storm. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Kevin McCormack, from a village north of the city of Hastings, who had stayed on the roof with his wife for hours. He spoke of a “wild night”. His neighbors had a similar experience, he told Radio New Zealand.
More than 140,000 people were still without power, according to Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty. He spoke of a “massive, unprecedented weather event”. The famous Hawke’s Bay wine region and the Coromandel Peninsula, which is popular with tourists, were particularly hard hit.
Some communities were completely cut off from the outside world, such as the town of Wairoa. Local residents told local media they were dependent on air supplies. “Wairoa only has enough food for one day and enough drinking water for two days,” said local resident Liz Lambert. Navy ships were also supposed to bring supplies to the worst-hit regions. Because cell phone towers were down, it was difficult to get information from flooded areas.
“Gabrielle” had been moving across the Pacific state with hurricane-force winds and heavy rain since Monday. On Tuesday, the government declared a national emergency – for only the third time in the country’s history. Although the storm slowly pulled away from New Zealand, the weather service MetService warned of further heavy precipitation in central regions of the country. New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere, so it’s summer there right now.
Memories of Cyclone Boa
Many already compared the devastating consequences of “Gabrielle” with those of Cyclone “Bola”. The hurricane in 1988 caused massive damage. While neighboring Australia has long been struggling with new natural disasters and extreme weather as a result of climate change, such severe weather events in New Zealand have so far been the exception.
This year, however, the disasters are piling up: just a few weeks ago, there were severe floods on the North Island. In Auckland, more rain fell within 24 hours than in an entire summer. Hipkins, who has only been prime minister since January, said the storm made one thing very clear: New Zealand must face up to the challenges of climate change.