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Crisis meetings are slated for North Island councils as weather models suggest Cyclone Vaianu will make landfall between Auckland and Coromandel when it reaches the top of the country on Sunday. Close to 20 heavy rain and strong wind watches have been issued this morning across the North Island from Saturday evening, in what MetService is labelling a “multi-hazard, potentially life-threatening event”. This afternoon officials connected to Manawatū-Whanganui civil defence, councils, partner agencies and emergency services will be meeting to discus how they prepare for the incoming storm. Forecasters have warned the combination of damaging winds and heavy rain will bring a risk of power outages, flooding, fallen trees, slips and road closures. A top meteorologist said coastal regions in particular could be swamped by surges fuelled by monster waves and a drop in barometric pressure. Update on TROPICAL CYCLONE VAIANU ⚠️Tropical Cyclone Vaianu is continuing to move southwards and as of this morning it is roughly halfway between Fiji and New Zealand with winds of 95km/h near the centre.The latest tropical cyclone track map can be seen below, showing that… pic.twitter.com/Jc5FZ0oKd9— MetService NZ (@MetService) April 8, 2026 Heavy rain, strong wind watches for Sunday A heavy rain watch remains in place for Bay of Plenty and east of Whakatāne until 4pm today. A further heavy rain watch has been issued in Northland for 12 hours from 9pm on Saturday to 9am on Sunday, and in Auckland from 2am to 2pm on Sunday. The Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Plenty west of Whakatāne (including Rotorua) and Waikato have rain warnings from early morning to around 4pm on Sunday. Gisborne north and south of Tolaga Bay, Hawke’s Bay ranges and the coastal hills south of Napier are expected to experience 14 to 16 hours of rain from 2am to 6pm on Sunday. While in Waitomo, Taumaranui, Taupō and Taranaki, the heavy rain warning is in place for 8am to 8pm on Sunday. A strong wind watch is in place for western parts of the North Island from Coromandel to Wellington, as well as in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, the Tararua District, Wairarapa, Northland, Auckland and Great Barrier Island from early morning Sunday through to late night and early Monday morning. Some regions are likely to be upgraded to orange or even red warnings as the track of the cyclone becomes clearer, with heavy rain watches added closer to the time. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters that Cyclone Vaianu is a potentially “damaging and significant event” for the country, with government agencies set to be “on full notice”. Civil Defence has already advised Kiwis to make plans, as has Luxon, who said yesterday that people in the North Island should “stock up, get supplies and tie things down”. Brandolino wouldn’t say whether he’d compare it to Cyclone Gabrielle or not, but that it’s “very concerning”. “This is going to be a big event, there’s no doubt about it. “We won’t see as much rain as Gabrielle, which is something that might save our bacon, as it’ll hit a lot faster.” The projected track of Cyclone Vaianu at 9am on Sunday, expected to make landfall between Auckland and Coromandel. Image / Windy.com A MetService spokeswoman told the Herald that as of midnight last night, Vaianu is a category 2 storm after a day at the stronger category 3. “It’s now in New Zealand waters and being classified as a category 2 ... it’s about halfway between Fiji and us as we speak.” Earth Sciences NZ principal scientist Chris Brandolino told Ryan Bridge TODAY that the cyclone is looking to track somewhere between Auckland and Coromandel. “Most current information is for the centre of the cyclone to move somewhere between Auckland and Coromandel … that’s the indication right now.” “One of the bigger impacts in this cyclone is wind, it...
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