New Zealand, Europe brief News – New Zealand declared a national state of emergency after being hit by widespread flooding and landslides.
The huge ocean swells force the evacuations of thousands of people, local authorities said.
Many people were displaced and some were forced to swim from their homes to safety after rivers burst their banks.
Others have been rescued from rooftops.
About a quarter of a million people are without power. Falling trees have smashed houses, and landslides have carried others away and blocked roads.
The storm’s damage has been most extensive in coastal communities on the far north and east coast of the North Island – with areas like Hawke’s Bay, Coromandel and Northland among the worst hit.
Communications to one town in the region have been completely cut after a river burst its banks.
Civil defence authorities in Hawke’s Bay said they couldn’t cope with the scale of the damage. Australia and the UK have pledged to help.
A firefighter remains missing after being caught in a landslide in Muriwai, west of Auckland. A second firefighter involved was critically injured, rescue agencies said.
Marcelle Smith, whose family lives in a cliff-front property in Parua Bay on the east coast of the North Island, told the BBC she had fled inland with her two young children on Monday night.
