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A State of Disaster has been declared by the Cook Islands Prime Minister after power was knocked out to up to 90 per cent of the island of Aitutaki early this morning.
The Category Three cyclone tore down roofs and left trees strewn everywhere.
Weather Watch head analyst Philip Duncan
said winds had reached up to 100 knots.
"Very, very strong winds - severe gale force. And they would have had mammoth seas as well. There haven't been a lot of reports out of the area yet, but certainly on a scale of storms this one was moderate to large."
Two planes had been flown into the island and a third was flying in from Rarotonga at 3.30pm to bring tourists out, Cook Islands Tourism New Zealand manager Chris Ingram said.
The airport terminal's roof and windows had been damaged, but the runway and check-in counter were still operational, he said.
Residents of the tiny resort island north of Rarotonga had not been expecting such a powerful storm, said a hotel operator on the island.
nzherald.co.nz briefly got through to a man at Inano Beach Hotel. He said the entire island was "badly damaged".
"We did have a warning the day before but we thought it wasn't meant to be this strong."
A The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said New Zealand was on standby and ready to help.
Aitutaki Lagoon and Spa had made contact with its sister resort in Rarotonga this morning by satellite phone but the connection was lost, said Rarotonga Lagoon and Spa executive assistant manager Edward Brennan.
There had been 34 guests at the Aitutaki resort when the cyclone hit, but there were no reports of injuries, he said.
"There has been some damage done to the island but we are currently awaiting updates."
Aitutaki is about 200 kilometres north of Rarotonga and has a population of about 2000.
The Emergency Operational Centre lost contact with Aitutaki for several hours this morning. A spokesman said satellite phone contact is now in place but there are still no details about how much damage the cyclone has caused.
Cyclone Pat is expected to weaken once it passes Aitutaki and moves into open water.
The cyclone is currently moving southwest across the Cook Islands group.
David Topo from the Cook Islands Weather Service says the capital, Rarotonga, should not be greatly affected.
"It's not really a strong wind there," he told ABC News.
"It's only about 18 knots moving slowly south-westerly at the moment and it looks like it's going to miss Rarotonga."
- NZ HERALD STAFF
