Tourists flee Cook Islands cyclone

Tourists were last night abandoning their holidays in the Cook Islands ahead of Cyclone Meena and locals were bracing themselves for winds of up to 275km/h and enormous seas expected to batter the islands this morning.

Air New Zealand had planned to put on an extra flight from Rarotonga last night but it was cancelled at 9.30pm because of deteriorating weather.

An extra several dozen passengers had got on an earlier flight, terminating their holidays early as the weather turned nasty.

Meena was forecast to pass over Rarotonga around dawn today.

About 300 tourists were evacuated from the northern atoll of Aitutaki at the weekend and flights there cancelled.

MetService said yesterday that the hurricane-force winds were still intensifying. It forecast an average speed of 200km/h, with gusts of up to 275km/h.

Forecaster Erick Brenstrum said the winds would be very destructive on land and whip up phenomenal seas, with damaging heavy swells and surge.

The forecast was about as bad as you could get, he said.

In the Cook Islands, comprised of 15 islands spread over 2.2 million sq km, a national emergency operations centre was set up on Rarotonga to co-ordinate cyclone proofing and recovery.

Assistant Police Commissioner Maara Tetava told the Herald yesterday that there had been plenty of warning about Meena.

Mr Tetava said people were tying down their houses with rope, hammering shut their windows and stocking up on dry goods, torches and batteries.

Preparation programmes ran right though the cyclone season from October to March, so people knew what to do, he said.

Mr Tetava said the cyclone had already swept by Pukapuka and Nassau in the northern group as well as Palmerston in the southern, with just heavy rain and high winds.

Rarotonga, Mangaia, Mitiaro, Mauke and Atiu last night remained in its path.

Mr Tetava said the last "big one" was Cyclone Sally in 1987. It caused a lot of damage in the capital, Avarua, but no one was killed.

In 1997, Cyclone Martin flattened Manihiki in the northern group and lives were lost, he said.

At Rarotonga's largest hotel, Edgewater Resort on the west coast, beachfront units have been evacuated and protective mesh put in place.

Room division manager Maeva Henry said only a few of the 200 guests had decided to leave.