Hundreds evacuated in New Zealand as country braces for potentially deadly Cyclone Vaianu

Fintan Starkey
Sun, 12 Apr 2026 09:26:58 +0000

Cyclone Vaianu struck New Zealand's North Island on Sunday, coming ashore close to the Maketu Peninsula and bringing devastating conditions that authorities have classified as potentially fatal.

The national weather service MetService characterised the storm as a "life-threatening" system, with destructive gusts surpassing 130 kph, torrential rainfall and substantial ocean swells battering coastal communities.

Flooding has swept through affected areas whilst approximately 5,000 homes lost electricity, though power has since been restored to around 2,000 homes.

Hundreds of residents have been forced from their properties as emergency declarations were enacted across multiple regions, with officials issuing their highest-level wind warnings reserved for the most severe weather events.

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Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell indicated that Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, had avoided the storm's full force as the cyclone shifted its trajectory eastward.

"It's moved more to the fringes and more to the east, which means that we haven't quite seen the intensity that we had prepared for or that we thought we were going to get hit with. So that is good news," Mr Mitchell stated.

However, the minister cautioned that conditions would intensify over the following twelve hours as the system approached.

He expressed particular concern about the afternoon period when high tides coinciding with powerful swells could cause significant coastal flooding.

The coastal Whakatane District sustained considerable damage as the cyclone passed through, with authorities ordering mandatory evacuations at 270 properties.

Military personnel from the New Zealand Defence Force have been mobilised alongside heavy machinery to support evacuation operations.

Weather monitoring recorded wind gusts reaching 130kph in certain locations, whilst Whangarei experienced more than 100 millimetres of rain within a 24-hour period.

Offshore conditions proved equally treacherous, with wave heights measured at over six metres.

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"The concerning time is really from 2 p.m. this afternoon onwards when we've got high tides combined with those big swells," Mr Mitchell warned.

Air New Zealand grounded more than 90 turboprop services, predominantly affecting regional North Island airports, though domestic jet and international routes continued with some weather-related delays.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand attended over 100 incidents involving wind damage and surface flooding across affected areas.

MetService forecasters anticipate the storm will track southward through the North Island before departing via Hawke's Bay on Sunday evening, bringing relief to battered communities.

"Things do improve from tonight and tomorrow, but at the moment this is still a life-threatening weather system," said Heather Keats, MetService head of weather news.

The cyclone has drawn comparisons to 2023's Cyclone Gabrielle, which claimed eleven lives and displaced thousands in one of the country's worst natural disasters this century.