A state of emergency has been declared in northeastern New Zealand as it braces for cyclone Hale, civil defence authorities in the district of Tairawhiti said late on Tuesday.
The measure came into force at 10 p.m. (0900 GMT) on Tuesday and will expire in seven days unless lifted earlier, the Civil Defence Emergency Management said in a statement.
It also advised the public to stay off roads, as surface flooding is expected in many areas across the region.
In the Matawai settlement in Gisborne, nearly 400 residents were without power overnight, the agency said and recommended the residents at Hikuwai River's Willowflat area to evacuate due to its rising flow.
(Reporting by Shubhendu Deshmukh and Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
