"That's going to be the place that will get more storm damage than anywhere," Mr Lister said.
The biggest concerns were high winds blowing roofs off houses, trees falling down, road accidents and landslides in vulnerable areas.
By lunchtime today, the cyclone was due to move south towards eastern parts of New Zealand - with East Cape, eastern Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and northern Hawke's Bay likely to suffer the height of Pam's wrath.
Gales of 120km/h were recorded in the Far North yesterday, with a warning the storm could continue throughout the region until lunchtime today.
A period of heavy rain was expected across Northland until this morning, possibly exceeding 75mm in 15 hours.
"Everybody is on standby, basically," Mr Lister said. "They have all been briefed on safety issues and weather events and what to be aware of."
If the damage was as extensive as expected, fire crews around the region will likely be mopping up debris this morning.
Another emergency control centre had been set up in the Far North. They would both be in operation until the conclusion of the cyclone. However, showers were expected to linger until tomorrow afternoon.
In the event power was lost overnight, both Northland power companies said repairs would not happen until this morning.
A Northpower spokesman said it was too dangerous to send crew out overnight in tough conditions. "We just can't afford to send people out there," he said. Far North lines company Top Energy also said it would not be sending staff out overnight. The company discharged 85 workers yesterday from Mangamuka, having restored power to 10,000 homes four hours ahead of schedule.
The workers had been removing high-voltage power lines from a damaged pylon teetering on the edge of a cliff and transferring them to new poles.
The pylon had been damaged by a 100-metre long slip triggered by heavy rain in December and was in the rugged Mangamuka Ranges, just north of the point where State Highway 1 crosses the Mangamuka River.
It carried the 110,000-volt cables which were Kaitaia's only source of power. The project was completed and power was restored to Kaitaia by 2pm yesterday. "We want to make sure power is up and running for customers before the weather gets any worse," the Top Energy spokesperson said.
Northern Advocate Facebook followers checked in throughout yesterday evening.
Joy Williams said Matauri Bay was "rough as", while Matapouri was getting rough, according to Lisa Flower.
Dean Campbell said it was just "wet and a little windy ... in Raumanga", with light drizzle and little wind reported by Pedro Rochee in Dargaville.
Cara Joy Collins said the water at the Town Basin in Whangarei had come up on the grass in a few low places, while Kylie Livingston said she was glad there was still electricity at Maungatapere.
