The Cook Islands appeared to have escaped the worst of Cyclone Meena despite earlier fears of widespread destruction, the New Zealand high commissioner to Rarotonga said on Monday.
The cyclone battered houses on the islands, cut power and brought down trees but there were no reports of injury.
”They did experience some fairly high seas, some very, very strong winds, but no reports of any major damage to buildings or any injuries at all,” High Commissioner Kurt Meyer told New Zealand radio station Newstalk ZB.
Winds appeared to have reached about 100kph on the islands, he said.
Huge waves also damaged buildings along the waterfront in the main township of Avarua, where the popular Trader Jacks restaurant was largely destroyed.
By 6pm on Sunday in the Cook Islands (5am GMT on Monday), Meena had passed the southern island of Mangaia and was forecast to be heading near southern parts of French Polynesia.
The Australian-Pacific Centre for Emergency and Disaster Information said Meena seems to have peaked in intensity as a strong category-four storm, on a scale where five is the most severe.
”Very rough seas and some intermittent squalls with heavy rain and gales” are expected near French Polynesia, the centre said on its website.
Mike Henry, a resort owner on Aitutaki Island in the Cook Islands, said there was relief among locals and tourists.
”It’s not as bad as we feared, we’ve been very lucky,” he told National Radio.
He said it was low tide when the storm hit overnight, which reduced the amount of wave damage.
”Instead, we got winds that caused quite a lot of damage along the coast. Trees are down everywhere, crossing the roads, and some of the older buildings have lost roofing iron.”
Maeva Henry, from Rarotonga’s Edgewater Resort, said the cyclone had peaked in the early morning.
The Cook Islands, made up of 15 small islands with a total land area of 240 square kilometres, is spread over an area of the South Pacific greater than the size of India and has a population of about 21 000. — Sapa-AFP