Wellington - A huge sub-tropical storm continued to batter
parts of flood-stricken and wind-ravaged New Zealand on Thursday
night after leaving more than 40 passengers on a cruise ship injured
when it rolled in mountainous seas.
The injured were treated by doctors and nurses on board P&O's
Pacific Sun which a spokesman said rolled by about 20 degrees when it
hit 7-metre swells and 50 knot winds in the South Pacific, 600
kilometres north of Auckland, on Wednesday night.
The spokesman said the storm had delayed the ship, carrying 1,732
passengers and 671 crew on an 8-day Pacific cruise, and it was
expected to reach Auckland on Friday, 24 hours behind schedule.
Maritime New Zealand and the Rescue Coordination Centre were said
to be monitoring the ship's progress, but said it had not reported
that it is in any trouble.
Meanwhile, the storm, which hit northern regions causing floods
believed to have taken the lives of two people on Wednesday, moved
down the country, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
About 160 people were evacuated from rising waters in the township
of Amberley Beach, 50 kilometres north of Christchurch, and as the
storm continued south, forecasters said heavy rain was likely to
cause damage and flooding across southern New Zealand well into
Friday.
There were widespread reports of landslides and floods throughout
the country, with roads and railway lines blocked by landslides,
fallen trees and power lines.
More than 300 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours at Kaikoura, on
the east coast of the South Island, and up to 30 centimetres of snow
was reported in high country further south.
Power was gradually restored to the town of Levin, 95 kilometres
north of Wellington, where more than 25,000 households had spent the
night without electricity after 130-kilometre-an-hour winds toppled
hundreds of trees and brought down utility lines.
But officials said some rural areas could be without power for
days.
A state of emergency was lifted in Marlborough but officials said
civil defence operation centres continued to operate in parts of the
North Island and throughout Canterbury in the south.
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