Auckland prepares for heavy rain, even as Cyclone Gabrielle gets downgraded

SYDNEY - Residents of New Zealand’s biggest city were urged on Sunday to prepare for the impact of a storm that buffeted Australia’s Norfolk Island overnight. 

Gabrielle, downgraded to a subtropical low-pressure system from a Category 2 cyclone,

hit Norfolk Island on Saturday night

, with its most destructive winds missing the island, before tracking to New Zealand, which is 1,460km south.

New Zealand’s North Island and its largest city Auckland braced themselves for the storm’s full impact from Sunday night.

In January, Auckland was hit by record

rainfall that sparked floods and killed four people. 

The city of 1.6 million was in line for a “full trifecta” of heavy rain, strong winds and storm surges, said Ms Georgina Griffith, a spokesman for forecaster MetService. “Don’t be fooled if you’re not affected until Tuesday.”  

Wind and rain were spreading from the country’s north, with a 140kmh wind gust reported on the country’s North Island on Sunday afternoon, MetService said. 

“Rainfall amounts over the next three days show that although things get going today, the bulk of the rain is expected on Monday,” it warned, as the authorities tipped rain of up to 40mm on Monday.

Auckland Emergency Management said it was working to get 26 emergency shelters up and running in the city in time for the wild weather’s arrival. 

With Gabrielle closing in, Air New Zealand said it was cancelling multiple long-haul international fights on Monday, as well as Tasman and Pacific Island flights, and domestic services in and out of Auckland. 

Auckland Airport said airlines were announcing flight cancellations in the “evolving situation”, and encouraged people who had booked their travel tickets to watch for updates.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s office urged residents to prepare, including by tying down loose outdoor items and ensuring that houses were clear of debris. 

The storm was on track to lie off Cape Reinga at the North Island’s north end on Sunday afternoon, after moving away from Norfolk Island, MetService said. 

On Norfolk Island, which covers just over 34 sq km in the Pacific Ocean between New Caledonia and New Zealand, the authorities said they were clearing debris and trees from roads, and restoring power knocked out in the storm. 

The island’s roughly 2,000 residents, some descended from British sailors who mutinied on the HMS Bounty in the 18th century, had been “extremely fortunate” with the passage of the cyclone, the authorities said. REUTERS