Cyclone Vianu made landfall on New Zealand’s North Island on Sunday, causing flooding, knocking out power and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate their homes.
National weather provider MetService said the cyclone crossed the coast near the Maketu Peninsula, causing damaging winds of more than 130 km/h (80 mph), heavy rainfall and widespread flooding, describing Vaianu as a “life-threatening” system.
Authorities have placed several areas under emergency declarations and issued “red” level wind warnings, reserved only for the most extreme weather events.
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell said the cyclone was moving towards the outskirts of the North Island, sparing the country’s most populous city Auckland from the worst. But even after its impact in the afternoon, there was a possibility of strong winds and waves.
“It’s moved more marginally and further east, which means we haven’t seen the intensity that we prepared for or thought we were going to be impacted by. So that’s good news,” Mitchell said.
“In terms of what we’re going to expect over the next 12 hours, we’re going to see some more intensification as the cyclone starts to descend and get closer.”
Mitchell warned that the combination of afternoon high tide and large waves from the storm could cause coastal flooding.
“The relevant time is actually from 2pm today (0800 GMT), when we’ve got high tide with big swells,” he said.
He said the cyclone has forced hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes and left 5,000 homes without power, while power has been restored to about 2,000 homes.
Officials in the coastal Whakatāne district reported widespread damage during Waianau’s passage, with 270 properties subject to mandatory evacuation.
New Zealand Defense Force members and heavy equipment have also been deployed to assist in the evacuation.
MetService said it recorded winds of up to 130 km/h in some areas, rainfall totals of more than 100 mm (4 in) in 24 hours in the city of Whangarei and wave heights of more than 6 meters (20 ft).
Air New Zealand said in a statement it had canceled more than 90 turboprop flights, mainly from regional North Island airports.
“Domestic jets and international services are operating as per schedule, however, there may be some delays due to weather conditions,” the airline said.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said it responded to more than 100 calls for assistance related to wind damage and surface flooding.
MetService said conditions would ease as Waianae moved towards the North Island before exiting Hawke’s Bay on Sunday evening.
“Conditions will improve tonight and tomorrow, but at the moment this is still a life-threatening weather system,” MetService head of weather news Heather Keates said.
Vianu has evoked memories of 2023’s Cyclone Gabriel, which killed 11 people and displaced thousands in one of New Zealand’s worst natural disasters this century.
