Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A second firefighter in New Zealand died from injuries related to Cyclone Gabrielle bringing the death toll in the storm to six with officials warning it could continue to rise.
The firefighters -- identified as Craig Stevens and Dave van Zwanenberg -- were both caught in a landslip in the coastal community of Muriwai, west of Auckland on Monday as Cyclone Gabrielle made landfall on North Island packing 100 mph winds and torrential rainfall.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said its emergency urban search and rescue team had retrieved the body of the first firefighter from the landslide yesterday.
"We are still coming to terms with the news that Craig, our second firefighter caught in the Muriwai landslide, has died in hospital," Chief Executive Kerry Gregory said.
Police confirmed four more people were dead following the storm. Most recently, the body of a man in his 60s was recovered from flood waters in Gisborne.
Police also classed 3,544 people as "uncontactable" and warned some areas, including Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti, still faced "significant and potentially life-threatening challenges."
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said officials believed some of the reports of uncontactable individuals could include multiple reports for the same person.
"We believe the majority of those considered uncontactable simply cannot make contact with loved ones, so police are prioritizing those who are in isolated areas," he said.
As the clean-up gets underway and the scale of the destruction becomes apparent, Hipkins told New Zealanders to brace themselves for the death toll to rise.
People in the east-coast city of Napier, where power may not be restored for up to two weeks, spent hours queuing at gas stations, ATMs and to buy gas.
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty announced an initial contribution of $1.25 million to disaster relief funds to support affected communities on the east coast of the North Island, in addition to $7.3 million emergency funding announced Monday.
"Cyclone Gabrielle has caused widespread damage across the East Coast and this contribution will make sure financial support can be given to affected communities as quickly as possible," McAnulty said.
McAulty added it was "too early to know the full cost of the damage" but the government would make an initial contribution of $628,000 to each of the Tairawhiti and Hawke's Bay disaster relief funds.
"I'm anticipating more requests for support as the need across affected regions becomes clearer. We're meeting requests as they come through," he said.
A seven-day National State Emergency declared on Tuesday for only the third time in New Zealand's history remains in force.
As New Zealanders were starting to recover from one the most devastating weeks in living memory, they also had to contend with being struck by a strong earthquake on Wednesday night.
No injuries or damage were reported but tens of thousands of people on both the main islands reported having felt the natural phenomenon.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the tremor occurred in the Cook Strait off the coast of the capital, Wellington, at a depth of 46 miles.
