New Zealand warns about the high cost of damage from cyclone 'Gabrielle' that already leaves 11 dead

MADRID, 19 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The New Zealand Finance Minister, Grant Robertson, stated this Sunday during an interview for the TVNZ channel that the total cost of the damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle will be "billions of millions", a catastrophe that has left the minus 11 dead.

The head of Finance has acknowledged on television that he expects the total cost to be similar to that of the Christchurch earthquakes of 2011, which was around 13,000 million New Zealand dollars (7.5 million euros). "That's more or less what we're seeing right now in terms of cost," he said.

In this sense, housing, access to food, water and energy are the priorities for the Government in terms of allocation of funds in the event of a disaster, while it has also stated that the transport networks have suffered serious damage that will lead to time to repair

"We are looking sector by sector at what is needed there," Robertson said. "The package we provide in Northland could be quite different from the one we provide in Hawke's Bay," the headline clarified in statements collected by channel 1News.

Cyclone 'Gabrielle' has destroyed orchards, vineyards and agricultural crops in some of the most productive regions of New Zealand, as well as causing numerous interruptions in communications and electricity supply, which has paralyzed the sector.

The death toll remains at 11 as authorities continue search operations up to five days after the cyclone ravaged the north island of the oceanic country.

According to the newspaper 'The New Zealand Herald', the commander superintendent of the Eastern District, Jeanette Park, has affirmed that 3,000 people have been found but that more than 6,000 requests to search for missing persons continue.