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Cyclone Gabrielle damage to NZ farms ‘unprecedented’

Philip Case 16 February 2023
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© HOGP/AP/Shutterstock© HOGP/AP/Shutterstock

Farmers in New Zealand face a massive clean-up operation after Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through rural areas, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

Torrential rain and high tide caused major flooding on farms across the upper and eastern North Island, destroying pastures, crops and orchards, and killing livestock. At least five people have been killed.

New Zealand’s government has declared a national state of emergency for only the third time in its history and it has pledged an initial NZ$4m (£2.1m) for recovery efforts in rural communities.

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This follows the announcement by government earlier this week of an NZ$11.5m (£6.02m) community support package to assist tens of thousands of people affected by the floods.

About 75% of the country’s five million population lives on the North Island.

Agriculture minister Damien O’Connor said the impact of the cyclone was “unprecedented”, with “milk collection disrupted, orchards inundated and livestock losses across much of the North Island”.

Widespread power outages were affecting dairy farmers’ ability to milk cows, especially in the Northland, he added. The government pledged to provided assistance for feed availability to minimise animal welfare issues.

Dairy farmer Andrew Hoggard, who is also president of the Federated Farmers of New Zealand, said the union was concentrating its efforts to help the flood-hit districts in Northland, Coromandel, Tairawhiti and Hawke’s Bay.

“For some farm businesses, the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle coming on top of Cyclone Hale and an already unseasonably wet season in North Island provinces will be a body blow,” Mr Hoggard says.

“Rural communities have many times shown fighting spirit and a willingness to pull together. We need that more than ever.”

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