The New Zealand government declared a national state of emergency on Tuesday as Cyclone Gabrielle wreaked havoc causing widespread damage and floods. Gabrielle is 100 km (60 miles) east of Auckland, near the east coast of the country's North Island and is expected to move east-southeast, roughly parallel to the coast.This is the third time the country has declared an emergency. Cyclone Gabrielle is the second significant weather event to hit Auckland and the upper North Island in just a few weeks. Last month Auckland and surrounding areas were swamped after record rainfall that killed four people.

More than 60,000 houses faced power outages and heavy rains that lashed Auckland and forced several people to evacuate. The New Zealand government declared a state of emergency across the country's North Island, which has been battered by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Nearly a third of New Zealand's 5.1 million population live in the affected storm regions - which includes Auckland, the largest city. The storm has caused extensive damage across the North Island - washing away roads and bridges and flooding suburbs.

More than 500 flights of Air New Zealand were canceled affecting over 10,000 international customers. Departure lounges were full of passengers waiting to depart after canceled flights. Air New Zealand canceled all domestic flights to and from Auckland through Tuesday morning, as well as many international flights.

The country's meteorological agency, MetService, on Tuesday said Auckland had received about half of its annual rainfall in just the first 45 days of 2023. The department has said that the conditions are expected to clear in coming days, and heavy rain warnings are being lifted for some parts of the country. But it has warned that wind could still cause further damage.

Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said, “This is a significant disaster with a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders." A weather station in the Hawke’s Bay and Napier region recorded three times more rain overnight than usually falls for the entire month of February, MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said.

The national state of emergency includes six regions where local emergencies had already been declared. They are Auckland, as well as the regions of Northland, Tairawhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay. The train services were canceled, libraries and most schools were closed, and authorities asked people to make only essential trips.

Authorities have evacuated beach settlements and are still asking people to leave home as rivers continue to swell and the tide rises. Roads are closed, mobile phone services are down and some towns are cut off.

Local media reported that a firefighter was missing and another was rescued with critical injuries after they were caught in a landslide overnight near the country's largest city.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the military was already on the ground on the hardest-hit northern reaches of the North Island helping with evacuations and keeping essential supplies moving.