An eighth person, a two-year-old child, died in New Zealand after Hurricane Gabrielle hit Monday, prompting the evacuation of 10,000 people and leaving some 3,000 missing, authorities said on Friday.
Police have confirmed the eighth death from the storm, saying the victim appears to have "been caught in the floodwaters".
In a post on Facebook, the girl's family recounted a horrific scene at their home in the hardest-hit Hawke's Bay area.
“The water was standing about 10 centimeters from the ceiling of our house” after “rising extremely quickly and violently,” Ella Louise Collins, the mother, wrote Thursday.
The family of four tried to take refuge on the neighbor's roof, only to be blocked by what Ms Collins described as 'a torrent of water that nearly drowned us all'.
Her two-year-old daughter, Ivy, did not survive. “She died very quickly”, carried away by the waves, can we read in the publication.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins toured the Hawke's Bay area on Friday, saying "the whole country" sympathizes with affected communities.
"There are people who are in a very, very precarious state," he said.
About 10,000 people have been displaced, entire towns are still without electricity and drinking water, according to local government data.
Authorities also said 62,000 homes across the country are still without power.
The army has deployed helicopters in recent days to deliver food and basic necessities to isolated areas.
Faced with the magnitude of the task, Chris Hipkins also said he finally accepted offers of international aid, after initially rejecting them.
02/17/2023 10:31:00 - Napier (New Zealand) (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
