Otago emergency response team members are on their way to the North Island to help communities devastated in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Emergency Management Otago (Te Rākau Whakamarumaru Ōtākou) stakeholder engagement adviser Erica Andrews said two of its team members were being sent north yesterday — one to Northland and the other to Auckland. Others may follow.
Six staff members had gone to Auckland to help respond to the flooding there a fortnight ago.
The Dunedin City Council also has staff on stand-by to send north to help.
A council spokesperson said their thoughts were with friends and colleagues in Auckland and across the North Island, as the impact of the cyclone was revealed.
"In the meantime, we send our love to everyone affected by this disaster. Kia kaha!"
A national state of emergency was declared by Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty early on Tuesday morning, enabling the Government to support the affected regions, provide additional resources as needed, and help set the priorities across the country for the response.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins called Cyclone Gabrielle the most severe storm this century, and said the country was "still in for a bumpy time ahead".
About 250,000 people lost power on Tuesday, towns were cut off, more than 9000 families displaced , and 3000 people have sought refuge at Civil Defence centres.
Foodstuffs said there would be delays in shipping products, which could affect the availability of some grocery items for Dunedin shoppers in the coming days.
On Tuesday, the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic Te Pūkenga were monitoring the situation, in relation to travel disruptions for students.
Vice-chancellor Prof David Murdoch told students that the Dunedin campus was operating as usual, but the start of the academic year may be delayed if the situation changed.
