WELLINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand warned of severe impacts as Cyclone Vaianu approaches the country.
Authorities are urging farmers, growers and rural communities to prepare for heavy rains and damaging winds.
The government said in a statement on Friday that Cyclone Vaianu could bring significant rainfall and gale-force winds across the North Island and upper South Island from late Saturday through Monday, with possible effects on the Chatham Islands.
New Zealand's meteorological service has issued multiple orange warnings for heavy rains and strong winds, with gusts of around 140 km/h forecast for the Coromandel region. The government told rural residents to prepare for power and communications outages, and move stocks to higher ground if necessary. ■