Emergency Response Underway as Cyclone Vaianu Impacts North Island
While Cyclone Vaianu remains off the East Coast of New Zealand, the Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group says impacts have been felt overnight.
Red Strong Wind Warnings are in place for both Bay of Plenty and Coromandel, with gusts of up to 130km/hr posing risks to life, infrastructure, transport, and power supply.
Orange warnings and watches also extend across much of the North Island.
According to Metservice, at 11:30am Sunday, the centre of Cyclone Vaianu was situated due east of Coromandel Peninsular, tracking southwards towards the Bay of Plenty.
While the centre is still offshore, the strong winds, heavy rain and large swells associated with this system are being felt far from the centre.
Overnight, gusts of over 130km/h were recorded at Mokohinau and Channel Island and 24-hour rainfall totals in Whangārei reached over 100mm.
As Cyclone Vaianu continues to move closer to New Zealand winds are set to increase, especially for regions like the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel where gusts of 130km/h are possible.
A Red Strong Wind Warning remains active in these areas until Sunday evening. Winds of these strengths bring the threat to life from flying items and falling trees.
Destructive winds will cause widespread damage including powerlines and roofs, and significant disruption to transport and power supply.
Strong Wind Warnings and Watches cover the rest of the North Island. Auckland will notice strengthening southwesterlies this afternoon as Cyclone Vaianu moves to the southeast.
Wrapping around Vaianu, bands of rain will bring some larger totals to parts of the North Island and top of the South Island. A patchwork of Heavy Rain Warnings and Watches are in place, with the heaviest rain forecast over the higher ground from the Coromandel to the east coast.
The combination of strong onshore winds, rising rivers, large swells and low pressure increase the risk of coastal inundation especially for the Bay of Plenty and round to Hawke’s Bay. Be extra cautious around the coast, especially around high tide.
Cyclone Vaianu is forecast to cross the North Island today and move between the South Island and the Chatham Islands during Monday. A Strong Wind Watch is in place for the Chatham Islands from 9pm Sunday to 9am Monday.
