Surrendered to the elements of Nature New Zealand. Residents in the north of the country are preparing for a difficult night, as Cyclone Gabriel batters the country with torrential rains and winds. At least 46,000 homes have been left without power due to the storm, while hundreds of flights have been canceled. A state of emergency has been declared in nine regions – affecting almost 1/3 of the 5.1 million inhabitants.

The intensity of the storm is expected to peak on Monday night with the severe weather phenomenon continuing into Tuesday.

In New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, authorities earlier evacuated an area of ​​about 50 homes surrounding a 30-meter tower that was in danger of collapsing, local media reported. Dozens of evacuation centers have also been set up in the city. Emergency services have also reported people trapped by the waters – including a family stranded on a flooded motorway.

Authorities say they have received more than 100 calls for help since Sunday. Cyclone Gabriel is hitting northern New Zealand just weeks after Auckland and surrounding areas were hit by record rainfall and flooding that killed four people.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was among those stranded in Wellington on Monday after flights to the capital Wellington and elsewhere were cancelled. “Things are likely to get worse before they get better” he warned, announcing an aid package of NZ$11.5 million

Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said the government was considering declaring national emergency, something that will happen only for the third time in the history of the country.

New Zealand’s Metservice said Whangarei, a town north of Auckland, had received 100.5mm of rain in the past 12 hours. Monday has been deemed a “critical day” because of it “highly dangerous” combination of strong winds and heavy rain. Winds of up to 140km/h lashed the Northland region, while Auckland’s Harbor Bridge had to be closed as it was rocked by gusts of 110km/h. For homes left without power, the minister warned that it may also take days to restore the power grid, as the bad weather makes it “unsafe” to operate the grid. Although the cyclone has yet to make landfall, it has already uprooted trees, damaged roads and downed power lines. Many schools and local government facilities across Auckland and the North Island have been closed and people are being told not to travel before Tuesday. Meanwhile, approx 10,000 customers of Air New Zealand were affected by the cancellation of 509 flights. Regular services are expected to resume on Tuesday, with the national carrier adding 11 additional domestic flights to its schedule to help normalization efforts.