(Sydney) The powerful tropical cyclone Gabriella was heading for Australia’s Norfolk Island on Saturday, whose 2,000 residents were told to prepare for “damaging winds”, high waves and downpours.
According to the Australian Meteorological Services, wind gusts of up to 155 km / h are expected on Saturday evening in Norfolk, located in the Pacific Ocean about 1,500 km northeast of Sydney. The cyclone is expected to reach New Zealand on Sunday, already affected in late January by deadly floods.
“We expect power cuts, trees to fall, and houses could lose their roofs,” Norfolk Administrator Eric Hutchinson told national broadcaster ABC.
The Australian Meteorological Service forecast for the island “damaging winds, heavy rain, abnormally high tides and waves that could cause damage”.
All flights have been suspended in Norfolk, which used to be a British penal colony nicknamed “the Hell of the Pacific” before becoming a popular tourist destination.
The cyclone is expected Sunday evening in New Zealand, where it will bring heavy rain to the North Island, according to the country’s Meteorological Service.
Emergency shelters have already been set up in Auckland, a city of 1.6 million people where a state of emergency is still in effect following flooding two weeks ago.