New Zealand projects Cyclone Gabrielle recovery will cost as much as the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
New Zealand has said it will cost billions of dollars to rebuild after Cyclone Gabrielle, just like the Christchurch earthquake 12 years ago.
Gabrielle brought widespread flooding to the North Island in mid-February, damaging roads and bridges.
At least 11 people have died and thousands are still missing.
“It will be the biggest weather event of this century with a price tag of $1 billion,” Treasury Secretary Grant Robertson said.
Mr Robertson told TVNZ21 over the weekend that the government would first address the most pressing needs of survivors – food, shelter, electricity and communications.
“We have a long way to go to rebuild from this disaster, but we have the resources to do it and we have the will to do it,” Mr Robertson said. Farmers lost entire crops and herds to the floods, and authorities still determine how much of that is covered by insurance, the minister in charge of reconstruction said.
On Monday Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced an additional NZ$250 million to repair damaged roads and a NZ$50 million support package to help businesses immediately.
New Zealand spent NZ$13bn ($8.1bn; £6.7bn) to rebuild after the powerful South Island earthquake of 2011 that leveled much of Christchurch city center and killed 185 Killed people and left thousands homeless.
Mr Robertson blamed the extent of the damage caused by Gabrielle on New Zealand’s failure to build infrastructure to withstand climate change, adding that the current approach to adaptation “wasn’t robust enough”.
Not even tens of billions of dollars in additional infrastructure spending over the next five years can fill the gaps, he added. “The deficit is so big that we cannot catch up in the long term,” he said.
Roads damaged by the cyclone are still closed
Mr Hipkins also said the national emergency would be extended by seven days because of Gabrielle. It applies to Northland, Auckland Tai Rawhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Hawke’s Bay and Tararua.
This is only the third time in New Zealand’s history that the country has issued a national emergency declaration to speed up rescue and relief efforts – the last time was after the Christchurch earthquake.
Mr Hipkins said more than 6,500 people were unavailable after the cyclone, but added authorities knew about 4,200 of them were fine.
Around 15,000 people are still without power on the North Island, the prime minister said. About 70% of these are in Napier and the surrounding area.
Gabrielle struck a few weeks after heavy rains inundated the capital Auckland, also on the North Island. This deluge shut down the city’s airport, with photos going viral on social media.
Many of the roads damaged by Gabrielle are still closed. Tankers will not be able to pick up milk, some deforestation will be suspended and meat processing will be reduced, Reuters reported.
The cyclone also disrupted harvests at apple and pear farms, where annual production is estimated at NZ$1 billion. Many of these areas are not yet accessible.
Damage to farms could push up food prices and put pressure on inflation, which has been high at 7.2% for nearly three decades.
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