The Duke of Cambridge shas ent a message of support to the people of New Zealand following flooding in the area over the weekend.
The Prince shared a personal tweet from the Kensington Royal Twitter account, writing: “Seeing the devastation caused by the floods in New Zealand is a reminder of the herculean effort we must all make to protect our planet. I know you will come together, as you have done before, to support those in need. Catherine and I are thinking about all those affected. W”
The entire country of New Zealand has been facing widespread flooding emergencies over the past week, with more rainfall and warnings on the way. Around 1,200 people have been displaced due to the catastrophic flooding, with some warning that it could take years for clean-up and recovery of bridges and roads to begin in some areas.
The troubles in New Zealand come after more than four days of torrential downpours. The South Island city of Nelson has been one of the hardest hit areas; while areas in the northern and central part of New Zealand have also faced destruction and washed-out roads.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern traveled to Nelson over the weekend, visiting the Nelson Tasman Civil Defence emergency operations centre and telling those gathered there, “I wanted to come and acknowledge all of you, including your leadership, at a local level.”
In an interview with a New Zealand breakfast show, Prime Minister Ardern said that the flooding shows that attention and action must be taken with regards to climate change, saying, “We have to do our part, and demonstrate that we’re doing our part, particularly given we’re in such a vulnerable region, but we need the world to move, because you can see the impacts on significant weather and it’s not just us.
“This is a very visual representation of the impacts of climate change.”
