By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) – The northern parts of New Zealand are bracing for a tropical cyclone, which is expected to slam through most parts of the North Island from Sunday.
The country's meteorological service, MetService, has issued 20 severe weather warnings and watches as the tropical cyclone named "Gabrielle" is landing far north of New Zealand, multiple local media outlets reported.
Auckland and many other places in the region were upgraded to red alert with the warning that the worst weather is yet to come, New Zealand Herald reported.
A state of emergency has been imposed in Northland for seven days, with scores of flights from or through Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo airports canceled from midday today until midday Tuesday, the newspaper reported.
The MetService has upgraded heavy rain and strong winds warnings to "red alert" for Northland, Auckland, Coromandel and Gisborne.
Thousands of properties across parts of Northland and Auckland are without electricity as authorities warned that the people need to prepare for days without power.
Coromandel residents have been urged to "consider evacuating early" as the region is under the heaviest red rain warning.
The North Island is already feeling the cyclone impacts with howling gales wreaking havoc.
The Auckland Harbour Bridge has been closed to all traffic as Gabrielle tracks closer, creating waves over 11 meters (36 feet) high in the Bay of Islands.
Many parts of the North Island, including the biggest and most populated city Auckland, might be impacted destructively. Authorities have asked residents to prepare sandbags to buffer their homes, store food and water, and be ready for necessary evacuations in the coming days.