As Cyclone Gabrielle rips across New Zealand’s north, about 46,000 houses are without electricity.
Numerous flights have been canceled as a result of the authorities issuing warnings of strong winds and rain.
As Gabrielle draws closer to the North Island, some areas have declared states of emergency.
It happened just a few weeks after record-breaking rainfall in Auckland and the neighboring areas caused flooding and claimed the lives of four people.
Five northern regions, including Auckland, have already proclaimed a state of emergency. The declaration offers local government more authority to respond to dangerous situations, enabling them to impose travel restrictions and offer assistance.
In the previous 12 hours, Whangarei, a city north of Auckland, received 100.5mm (4 inches) of rain, according to the meteorological agency of New Zealand, Metservice.
Despite not yet making landfall, the cyclone has already uprooted trees, damaged roads, and brought down power lines.
People are being urged not to travel if at all possible as a result of the closure of numerous schools and local government offices in Auckland and the North Island.
Meanwhile, the cancellation of 509 flights caused delays for about 10,000 foreign Air New Zealand passengers.
Normal operations are anticipated to resume on Tuesday and to aid in recovery efforts, the national carrier has added 11 extra domestic flights to its schedule.
The cyclone is the second major weather occurrence to affect Auckland and the North Island in recent weeks.
According to authorities, the emergency and recovery response system has been overtaxed by the two significant disasters.
