Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Southern Cooks warned as Cyclone Pat nears

Posted at 04:19 on 09 February, 2010 UTC

People in the southern Cook Islands are being warned to brace for Cyclone Pat which is now gusting up to 90 knots, or nearly 170 kilometres an hour.

At about midday the cyclone was still about 600 kilometres from the main island, Rarotonga, after blowing through the northern islands overnight.

It is moving southeast but is likely to tend southwest overnight and on that path is expected to bring damaging gale force winds over much of the southern Cooks tomorrow.

The Nadi Weather Office says Aitutaki and other smaller islands should also be prepared for heavy rain and flooding.