Wellington - A state of emergency was declared in New Zealand's central North Island Monday after hundreds of vehicles were stranded in an estimated 1-metre snowfall on a state highway. Civil defence workers said up to 500 motorists were rescued by the army and volunteers with four-wheel vehicles during the night but another 80 remained stranded, Radio New Zealand reported.
Police said the 145-kilometre stretch of highway between the east coast port of Napier and the lakeside town of Taupo was expected to remain closed all day.
Two stretches of the main highway between the capital, Wellington, and the country's biggest city Auckland were also closed by the unseasonal springtime snowfall.
