New Zealand town blocks roads to stop looters after Cyclone Gabrielle

Residents in New Zealand have been installing roadblocks to deter looters in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, amid complaints of a slow response by overwhelmed civil defence, military and emergency management personnel.

At least nine people died in the aftermath of the cyclone, which has left thousands of homes without electricity for nearly a week, as well as entire settlements cut off on the east coast of the North Island after landslides destroyed roads. Police have “grave concerns” for 10 people still missing.

Residents of the rural Hawke's Bay village of Puketapu created the roadblocks with the blessing of police and military, the New Zealand Herald reported, after five people were caught looting a property on Friday.

The cyclone hit the uppermost region of the North Island on Sunday and tracked down the east coast, causing widespread devastation.

Puketapu was in one of the worst affected areas, with homes, businesses, orchards and vehicles destroyed by overflowing rivers. A 59-year-old resident drowned in the roof cavity of her cottage, where she had become trapped by rising floodwaters.

“The looting’s going to get quite scary,” Mary Danielson, the Puketapu Hotel owner, told The New Zealand Herald. “It’s not people around here, no way.”

“We had locals out here chasing people,” another resident told a town meeting to discuss installing checkpoints.

Police warned residents against carrying weapons. “We’d remind people that activity like arming yourself puts you, the community and others at potential risk, and you could risk criminal charges,” a spokesman said.

Any reports of looting were “overwhelmingly” isolated, police said, warning that they would “take a hard line on anyone taking advantage of a state of emergency”.

As the search for missing people continues, defence force and civil defence personnel have used helicopters to survey rural areas for damage to roads, power lines, stopbanks, flooding and slips.

At least 5,500 homes and businesses are still without power in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, lines company Vector said.

Evacuation centres in the east coast city of Napier were sheltering about 900 people, mayor Kirsten Wise told Radio New Zealand.

The navy said it had dispatched a ship with 26 tonnes of supplies to the city, while the air force sent helicopters carrying food and water to the stranded village of Tutira, 65 miles further north.

Chris Hipkins, the prime minister, said the response to the crisis was "still under way and there are people across the North Island working around the clock".