Cyclone Hola opinion: It's better to be prepared than not

Wild weather in Tauranga. Photo/File

There has been a lot of hype about Tropical Cyclone Hola ahead of it arriving in New Zealand.

The cyclone had been downgraded by Sunday morning to a category 2, following a couple of days of warnings of the unknown.

There was no way of knowing just how badly New Zealand would be impacted by Hola until it started moving closer, and despite Tauranga enjoying good weather over the weekend, it's likely to be the calm before the storm.

Despite its reclassification, weather officials were still predicting severe weather to parts of the North Island, with heavy rain and strong winds to strike.

A strong wind warning was issued for the Bay of Plenty, with gusts of up to 120km/h forecast for Monday.

Heavy swell was also expected over the eastern coastline from Northland through to Gisborne on Monday, with strong onshore winds for Coromandel Peninsula and could potentially cause coastal inundation for the Western Bay of Plenty.

Obviously, it would be great news if we managed to avoid the brunt of Cyclone Hola but we should still prepare just in case.

It's always important to windproof the outside of our homes when strong winds are expected to hit to avoid more damage caused by our personal belongings getting thrown around into our homes and cars.

This may include pulling down umbrellas, moving trampolines into sheltered areas and turning them upside down or pruning branches of trees that may seem weak.

It's always better to be safe than sorry so getting all the information in the lead up to the cyclone, helps us prepare.