New Zealand&#39;s national carrier on Tuesday cancelled all flights in and out of the capital, Wellington, and the southern city of Christchurch declared a state of emergency as the remnants of tropical cyclone Gita pummelled the country.

Even before the storm hit in full force, heavy rains in the centre of New Zealand brought floods in Christchurch, prompting a warning from Mayor Lianne Dalziel.

&quot;The full impact of the storm will be felt overnight and tomorrow morning,&quot; she said, urging residents of low-lying areas to evacuate. &quot;We are expecting homes to be flooded.&quot;

Air New Zealand said all flights to the capital would be grounded from 2.45 pm&nbsp;(0145 GMT) as weather authorities issued warnings of severe weather and heavy rain and gusts of up to 150 kph (93 mph).&nbsp;

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said troops had fanned out to areas likely to be the hardest hit and the national Civil Defence office in Wellington was on standby to help.

&quot;My message still to people is please look out for your local warnings and expect disruption to travel and please just be careful,&quot; she told reporters at parliament.&nbsp;

Cyclone Gita hit the Pacific island nations of Fiji and Tonga last week, packing winds up to 275 kph (171 mph). Fiji escaped major damage but Tonga suffered widespread destruction and flooding. Earlier, the storm had caused extensive damage in Samoa and American Samoa.

The cyclone had since been downgraded to a storm, but forecasters said it was still likely to wreak havoc on Tuesday evening as it traversed the centre of New Zealand.

Parts of the country are still reeling from a huge storm that prompted authorities to declare states of emergency at the beginning of February.

More than 40 schools and preschools shut in the upper South Island, while mayors urged people to stay home.

Transport authorities shut a stretch of highway along the east coast of the South Island and the Department of Conservation was closing seaside hiking tracks and campsites along the West Coast and ushering tourists away from low-lying areas, media said.

Even before the storm hit in full force, heavy rains in the centre of New Zealand brought floods in Christchurch, prompting a warning from Mayor Lianne Dalziel

New Zealand's national carrier on Tuesday cancelled all flights in and out of the capital, Wellington, and the southern city of Christchurch declared a state of emergency as the remnants of tropical cyclone Gita pummelled the country. Even before the storm hit in full force, heavy rains in the centre of New Zealand brought floods in Christchurch, prompting a warning from Mayor Lianne Dalziel. "The full impact of the storm will be felt overnight and tomorrow morning," she said, urging residents of low-lying areas to evacuate. "We are expecting homes to be flooded." Air New Zealand said all flights to the capital would be grounded from 2.45 pm (0145 GMT) as weather authorities issued warnings of severe weather and heavy rain and gusts of up to 150 kph (93 mph). Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said troops had fanned out to areas likely to be the hardest hit and the national Civil Defence office in Wellington was on standby to help. "My message still to people is please look out for your local warnings and expect disruption to travel and please just be careful," she told reporters at parliament. Cyclone Gita hit the Pacific island nations of Fiji and Tonga last week, packing winds up to 275 kph (171 mph). Fiji escaped major damage but Tonga suffered widespread destruction and flooding. Earlier, the storm had caused extensive damage in Samoa and American Samoa. The cyclone had since been downgraded to a storm, but forecasters said it was still likely to wreak havoc on Tuesday evening as it traversed the centre of New Zealand. Parts of the country are still reeling from a huge storm that prompted authorities to declare states of emergency at the beginning of February. More than 40 schools and preschools shut in the upper South Island, while mayors urged people to stay home. Transport authorities shut a stretch of highway along the east coast of the South Island and the Department of Conservation was closing seaside hiking tracks and campsites along the West Coast and ushering tourists away from low-lying areas, media said.

Former cyclone Gita hits New Zealand; emergency declared in southern city

Emergency services in Tonga were working to reopen roads on Tuesday and assess what assistance they may need after Cyclone Gita tore across the Pacific island nation in the middle of the night.

There were no confirmed reports of deaths from the Category 4 storm, but there were a lot of injured people, some seriously, said Graham Kenna, an Australian government adviser at Tonga`s National Emergency Management Office.

The clean-up began in the early hours of the morning as the tail of the cyclone was still over the capital, Nuku`alofa, with soldiers clearing roads from around 1:30 a.m.

&quot;We needed the roads cleared firstly so that we could get people that needed to get medical attention, and so that our assessment teams could get out,&quot; Kenna told Reuters in a telephone interview.

He estimated around 40 percent of houses in the capital, which is home to around 24,500 people, had suffered some damage, with roofs blown off and flooding. There was no electricity, after power infrastructure that was shut down in advance of the storm suffered damage and communications to many parts of the country were cut.&nbsp;

&quot;A lot of the older houses, especially some of the older heritage houses, have been badly damaged or destroyed, which is very sad, they`re quite historical,&quot; Kenna said. &quot;They`ve been through cyclones before, but this is the biggest cyclone this island has had for at least 60 odd years.&quot;&nbsp;

Photos posted on social media showed extensive flooding and downed power lines, as well as a destroyed Parliament House in the capital.&nbsp;The storm is now tracking towards Fiji`s southern islands.

The storm is now tracking towards Fiji`s southern islands.

Emergency services in Tonga were working to reopen roads on Tuesday and assess what assistance they may need after Cyclone Gita tore across the Pacific island nation in the middle of the night. There were no confirmed reports of deaths from the Category 4 storm, but there were a lot of injured people, some seriously, said Graham Kenna, an Australian government adviser at Tonga`s National Emergency Management Office. The clean-up began in the early hours of the morning as the tail of the cyclone was still over the capital, Nuku`alofa, with soldiers clearing roads from around 1:30 a.m. "We needed the roads cleared firstly so that we could get people that needed to get medical attention, and so that our assessment teams could get out," Kenna told Reuters in a telephone interview. He estimated around 40 percent of houses in the capital, which is home to around 24,500 people, had suffered some damage, with roofs blown off and flooding. There was no electricity, after power infrastructure that was shut down in advance of the storm suffered damage and communications to many parts of the country were cut. "A lot of the older houses, especially some of the older heritage houses, have been badly damaged or destroyed, which is very sad, they`re quite historical," Kenna said. "They`ve been through cyclones before, but this is the biggest cyclone this island has had for at least 60 odd years." Photos posted on social media showed extensive flooding and downed power lines, as well as a destroyed Parliament House in the capital. The storm is now tracking towards Fiji`s southern islands.

Tonga capital suffers widespread damage from Cyclone Gita

cyclone-gita

Cyclone Gita, News on Cyclone Gita, stories on Cyclone Gita, articles on Cyclone Gita, Cyclone Gita stories at Wion, Cyclone Gita news, Cyclone Gita latest news

cyclone gita

Former cyclone Gita hits New Zealand; emergency declared in southern city

Tonga capital suffers widespread damage from Cyclone Gita