Cyclone Gabrielle: Many rescued from rooftops as New Zealand grapples with destruction

At least four people, including a child, have died in New Zealand because of the damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, which has caused flooding and landslides across the North Island.

On Wednesday, officials said they had found the body of a child in Hawke’s Bay, which was one of the worst-affected areas.

About 300 people who were stuck on rooftops were saved by rescue helicopters.

Also, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake was felt all over the country late Wednesday night.

The quake hit off the coast of the North Island near the capital, Wellington. There were no immediate reports of damage or deaths.

Even though the cyclone has left New Zealand, about 10,500 people were still living in shelters on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins also said that “several people are missing, and the police are very worried about them.”

Even though most of the rain has stopped, many remote towns and areas are still cut off by high floodwaters and no power.

Chris Hipkins, the prime minister of New Zealand, said that Gabrielle was the worst weather event to hit the country in the last 100 years. It is thought to affect at least a third of the five million people who live in the country.

The storm did the most damage to coastal communities in the far north and east of the North Island. Hawke’s Bay, Coromandel, and Northland were some of the worst hit places.

Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said that the situation in Hawke’s Bay, a popular tourist area with some small towns in the middle of nowhere, was of particular concern to the government.

Monday night, when the cyclone hit, people in Hawke’s Bay had to swim through their bedroom windows as the water rose.

“In some cases, floodwaters reached the second floor of homes where people were being rescued,” a military spokesperson said.

There have been at least three deaths in the area. Authorities say that a woman died in a landslide at her home and that another person was found dead on the shoreline. The police said they thought the child got stuck in rising water.

On Tuesday, the body of a firefighter who had been missing since he was caught in a landslide west of Auckland was also found.

Mr. McAnulty said on Wednesday that it wouldn’t surprise him if the number of deaths went up.

But he praised the “phenomenal” work of rescue workers in Hawke’s Bay, where “about 300 people were pulled from rooftops” and 60 people were saved from a large building that was trapped by floodwaters.