(Reuters) - The&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;government said on Sunday it was allocating NZ$1.1 billion ($720&nbsp;million) to help communities recover from a&nbsp;cyclone&nbsp;and&nbsp;floods that lashed the country this year.
The funds from the 2023 budget are to cover "basics" of rebuilding roads, rail&nbsp;and&nbsp;schools, as well as&nbsp;flood&nbsp;protection, it said in a statement.
Cyclone&nbsp;Gabrielle devastated parts of the North Island&nbsp;in February, killing 11, after flash&nbsp;floods prompted by record-breaking rainfall hit the country's biggest city, Auckland, in January.
"At Budget 2023, the Government is investing $941&nbsp;million&nbsp;total operating&nbsp;and&nbsp;$195&nbsp;million&nbsp;capital in the next stage of the&nbsp;recovery," the statement said.
The government has estimated the cost of the disasters at up to NZ$14.5 billion, the country's costliest disaster after the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, which severely damaged the city of Christchurch.
"The&nbsp;recovery&nbsp;package responds to the immediate&nbsp;recovery&nbsp;needs of today&nbsp;and&nbsp;invests in greater resilience for tomorrow,&rdquo; said Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.
The spending "will get roads, rail&nbsp;and&nbsp;schools back to where they were before the extreme weather hit this year so communities can get back to normal as soon as possible," he said in the statement.
Despite the natural disasters, the government has said it will not introduce any major&nbsp;new&nbsp;taxes to fund&nbsp;recovery&nbsp;in this year&rsquo;s budget, to be delivered on Thursday, after pressure from the main opposition party, the centre-right National Party.
In addition to&nbsp;recovery, the funding is meant for child mental health support in the hard-hit Hawkes Bay&nbsp;and&nbsp;Tairawhiti&nbsp;regions, jobs training&nbsp;and&nbsp;flood&nbsp;protection, the government said.
Gabrielle, which hit the North Island's northernmost region&nbsp;and&nbsp;tracked down the east coast, caused widespread destruction.
Insurance companies in March reported receiving 40,000 claims worth around NZ$890&nbsp;million&nbsp;for damage from the&nbsp;cyclone.
($1 = 1.5763&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;dollars)
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(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by William Mallard)

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New Zealand pledges $720 million for cyclone and flood recovery