Cyclone Vaianu is set to move southwards across the North Island, with strong wind and heavy rain watches and warnings in force for much of the island as well as the upper South Island.
There are orange heavy rain warnings for Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty west of Whakatāne including Rotorua, Gisborne/Tairāwhiti north of Tolaga Bay, Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges, the Tararua Range, and Eastern Marlborough in the South Island.
Two areas are under a strong red wind warning: Great Barrier Island/Coromandel and Bay of Plenty and Rotorua.
Several homes are without power including about 1000 between Waimamaku and Whirinaki and more than 600 in Coromandel.
Gusts of up to 130 kilometres per hour have been recorded in the outer Hauraki Gulf and around Coromandel overnight.
The forecaster urged people to keep up to date with the latest forecasts, adjust plans as needed and be prepared to act, and follow all advice of local authorities.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Discussion about this post