New Zealand is preparing for the biggest storm system it has seen in decades.
Cyclone Cook is expected to make landfall today and is heading directly for the Bay of Plenty region which was devastated by last week’s Cyclone Debbie.
The storm is then expected to move to the South Island early on Friday.
Towns along the north coast have already been evacuated and citizens of Auckland have been told to cancel their plans for the Easter weekend.
Flights across the country have been delayed or cancelled, and Air New Zealand has suspended operations altogether from Tauranga Airport in the North Island.
The UK Foreign Office said a state of local emergency has been declared in the Bay of Plenty Region following severe flooding.
“Further very heavy rain and high winds are forecast until Saturday 15 April 2017 for much of New Zealand. The MetService is predicting major impacts for Coromandel/Western Bay of Plenty,” it said.
