Jacinda Ardern Tours Flood-Affected Regions In New Zealand

Jacinda Ardern New Zealand floods: Prime Minister Ardern, Tuesday, toured parts of her country's South Island, which has been hit hard by floods in what she called a "once-in-a-century event." The 40-year-old, youngest woman top leader of New Zealand, reviewed the disaster situation in a military helicopter.

"It's quite devastating, there's a lot of work to do -- a big clean-up job lies ahead of us," Ardern told the press after her survey, news agency AFP quoted.

Cities like Canterbury, where emergency has been declared, have been badly affected by the floods with over 300 residents evacuated. A red warning has been issued by the New Zealand Meteorological Service, while authorities have sounded the alarm for New Zealand seeing torrential rainfall worth three years in only three days.

Jacinda Ardern New Zealand Floods Leadership, Vision To Rebuild Hit Areas

"We've got thousands of people who are not connected to their town, they're not connected to their schools or place of work. So that's a real priority. It's devastating to see what communities will be dealing with for some time to come," Ardern further said.

Ardern's Labour Party came to power for a second term last year after a sweeping majority. Ever since she assumed office in 2017 as the Prime Minister, Ardern has been hailed for her progressive, diverse and inclusive policy. Her empathic action to curb the spread of coronavirus in her country in 2020 featured on several honour lists as a standing example of effective leadership.

A book authored by Supriya Vani and Carl A Harte follows Ardern's journey as a leader of the masses. Titled Jacinda Ardern: Leading with Empathy, it releases June 2021.