Debbie wreaks havoc in NZ:
Wide- spread flooding on Wednesday blocked roads, closed schools, diverted flights and forced hundreds of people to evacuate across New Zealand’s North Island, as the tail-end of powerful Cyclone Debbie brought intense rainfall.
A week after the storm system left a trail of destruction in Australia, a state of emergency was declared in two New Zealand cities as river levels rose amid record rainfall. In Auckland, the area’s biggest city, about 10,000 homes were without power.
No deaths have been reported, but authorities warned peak rainfall set to arrive late on Wednesday could bring as much as three month’s worth of rain by day’s end in some areas.
That spurs a threat of flash flooding in areas still recovering from a devastating earthquake in November. (RTRS)