The New Zealand government will provide 15 million NZ Dollars (about 9.2 million U.S. dollars) in the short term to local councils to remove rubbish left by Cyclone Gabrielle, the country's biggest natural disaster seen in this century, which killed 11 people.

While the funding is to assist local authorities to remove and dispose of residential solid waste between Feb.13 and June 30, a longer-term approach to waste management is being developed, after the cyclone lashed the North Island last month, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty said on Thursday.

"Several regions are facing significant costs associated with residential waste removal, which has the potential to become a public health and environmental risk," McAnulty said, adding some local councils don't have the financial capacity to deal with the situation.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP