Residents of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, are being asked to prepare for further bad weather as a system described as potentially “the most severe storm to hit New Zealand this century” is expected to hit in the coming days. strike.
The warnings come less than two weeks after Auckland was hit by historic levels of rain, killing four people, causing widespread flooding, landslides and a cleaning bill of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Auckland Emergency Management said it was working with MetService, the meteorological service, to monitor the storm, dubbed Cyclone Gabrielle. It said residents should contact neighbors, family and friends who may need help preparing for the storm.
Gabrielle is in the Coral Sea, but is predicted to move south towards Aoetearoa, New Zealand, in the coming days and near the North Island on Monday. Forecasters expect it to bring heavy rainfall to the upper North Island, including Auckland, causing severe storms, large waves and storm surges.
New Zealand weather forecaster WeatherWatch.co.nz said the cyclone, which is highly likely to become a Category 3 cyclone this weekend, will reach land between Sunday and Tuesday. Category 3 storms have wind speeds of 119-157 kilometers per hour, with gusts of up to 224 kilometers per hour.
“If this current modeling comes true, this will likely be the most severe storm to hit New Zealand this century – especially with Auckland in the mix for a potential direct hit,” WeatherWatch.co.nz said on Wednesday.
It added that the possible weather event would be concerning even if Auckland had not recently experienced severe flooding.
About one cyclone hits New Zealand each year. However, MetService said that the characteristics and structure of any tropical cyclone will change dramatically by the time it reaches New Zealand, and it will almost certainly be reclassified as an ex-tropical cyclone.
“Reclassification as an ex-tropical cyclone does not necessarily mean that the system has been weakened,” MetService added.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
Photo: A landslide caused by floodwaters undermines a home in Auckland, Saturday, January 28, 2023. Record levels of rainfall battered New Zealand’s largest city, causing widespread disruption. (Hadyen Woodward/New Zealand Herald via TBEN)
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