New Zealand Police have received more than 1,400 reports of missing or uncontactable people across the country’s North Island in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Four people have now also been confirmed as deceased following the storm. They include a child, whose body was located in Eskdale, in the Hastings district, shortly before 2pm today. The child is believed to have been caught in rising water yesterday.
The body of a volunteer firefighter was also recovered from a landslide in coastal Muriwai early this afternoon.
Yesterday afternoon, a person died in a landslip on a rural property on Matahorua Road in Putorino in northern Hawke’s Bay. Emergency personnel also found the body of a person on the shore in Bay View at Napier last night.
“Police extend their condolences to the families of those who have died and continue to make enquiries into the circumstances,” NZ Police said in a statement.
Police say that as of this afternoon, 1,442 people have been registered as uncontactable.
The vast majority of reports are from Eastern District (Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti) alone, with the remainder from across the North Island.
“While we expect a large number of the reports to be the result of communication lines being down, Police can confirm there are several people missing in the Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti areas, for whom we have grave concerns,” NZ Police said.
“With other storm-affected districts reporting they are able to manage their response within existing resources, Police National Headquarters is now focussed on critical support for Eastern District.
“We are redeploying more than 70 staff from Bay of Plenty, Central, Wellington, Tasman, Canterbury and Southern districts, as well as the Royal New Zealand Police College, to Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti over the next 48 hours. Those staff will support recovery efforts and provide community reassurance.”
