Cyclone Gabrielle: Orchard workers in Hawke's Bay use refrigerators & mattresses to wade through waters

Cyclone Gabrielle has caused massive destruction in the North Island region of New Zealand. The death toll has risen to eight and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has said that the count is expected to rise as rescue workers reach more people stranded by the cyclone. After hitting the North Island, the cyclone made its way way down the east coast, cutting off towns, washing away farms, bridges and livestock and inundating homes, stranding people on rooftops.

"We do need to brace ourselves for the fact that there are likely be more fatalities from this across the country. And the true extent of that, we won't know for a while," Hipkins said.

Meanwhile, a video of some orchard workers in Hawke's Bay has emerged, showing them navigating through floodwaters using refrigerators and mattresses. They were all stuck due to the cyclone and tried to take refuge on rooftops. The video of the Hawke's Bay orchard workers went viral, leading to a rescue mission. All the workers were lifted by helicopters and taken to safer locations.

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Communication channels cut

Several thousand people are unable to contact their loved ones in New Zealand as communication lines are down. Over 4,500 people had registered with the police by Friday as being out of touch with friends or family. Police says that a lot of those affected do not have access to communication networks.

"This is undoubtedly the biggest natural disaster that we've seen probably this century," Hipkins said. "The scale of the damage is considerable because it covers such a large geographical area."

Communication and access to several areas has been affected as about 62,000 properties still without power.

Rescue and relief operations

A specialist team from Australia has reached New Zealand to assist with the rescue and relief effort, Hipkins said. Trucks carrying essential items are being sent to remote areas, while defence ships and aircrafts are being used to transport items to areas of the east coast.

In Hawke's Bay, a mostly rural region, helicopters and boats are out looking for stranded people, besides the land-based search and rescue teams.

Two temporary morgues have also been set up in the Hawke's Bay region which includes the towns of Napier, Hastings and Wairoa.

Officials also warned that since Cyclone Gabrielle submerged farms, supply fruits and vegetables could be impacted in the coming days.

(With inputs from agencies)

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