pago

The Cook Islands’ main island of Rarotonga battened down on Wednesday as Cyclone Percy continued to batter the tiny South Pacific nation. The cyclone, which dropped to category four from the maximum five during the day, passed to the west of the island of Palmerston early on Wednesday.

Residents of the northern Cook Islands were evacuated from their homes on Sunday as the tiny South Pacific nation was lashed by a ”near direct hit” from the fourth cyclone in the region this month, disaster authorities said. Communications with the island of Pukapuka in the northern Cook Islands were lost on Sunday morning.

The tiny Pacific island nation of Tokelau called for food and medical supplies on Saturday after suffering heavy damage from tropical Cyclone Percy. As the powerful storm headed towards American Samoa’s Swains Island, residents on the New Zealand-administered Tokelau islands began counting the cost of the battering from gale-force winds and high seas.

Storm warnings were hoisted across the South Pacific on Saturday as Cyclone Percy became the fourth violent storm in a month to hit the region, with the tiny island group of Tokelau directly in its path. Eight other territories were warned to monitor the cyclone’s route closely for any deviation.