“Everyone’s on standby, we’ve got good teams ready to respond across the entire region, so I think we’re well-placed.”
MetService meteorologist Alanna Burrows said the watches could be upgraded to warnings later in the week.
“This system is expected to move quite quickly.”
Cyclone Vaianu was downgraded this morning to a category two cyclone, but that could change again as it tracked down the North Island, she said.
Its exact direction was uncertain.
The “serious” and “intense” conditions could cause surface flooding, slips, dangerous driving conditions, and rapidly rising streams and rivers.
Severe winds with gusts of 110km/h were expected around the North Island, which could cause damage to trees and power lines.
Whanganui District Council emergency manager Tim Crowe said residents should prepare ahead of time.
“Keep travel on Sunday to a minimum, especially if you’re travelling out of our district.”
People should tie down loose outdoor objects, check in with neighbours and ensure they had adequate supplies.
Torches and generators should be readied in the case of power cuts.
Powerco’s head of network operations, Mark Dunn, said extra crews would be on standby to respond to outages across the North Island.
Fallen trees or high winds could cause delays in restoring power.
“Customers should prepare now to potentially be without power for several days.”
Crowe said hilly areas in the Whanganui region would be at greater risk of landslides.
Residents of river valleys and rural areas should be ready to move livestock or animals from low-lying areas.
The Whanganui River catchment gave Whanganui a geographical advantage, he said.
“We will more than likely see the rainfall come down the river and be able to monitor it and see what height it gets to.”
Grant said the catchments’ structures were sound.
“Certainly, at the moment, all of the catchments are low, so they’ve got capacity, and they’re not saturated, so that’s all good news.”
Councils, partner agencies, emergency services and others involved in civil defence and emergency management across the region are due to meet this afternoon. An update from that meeting is expected later in the day.
Sunday’s Marton Harvest Festival has been cancelled ahead of Cyclone Vaianu.
“The safety of people and property is our priority,” organisers said.
A suitable alternative date could not be found.
MetService urged people to monitor forecasts as watches and warnings were updated.
Noam Mānuka Lazarus is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle.
