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CYCLONE MEENA LATEST NEWS NORTHERN GROUP SOUTHERN GROUP
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CYCLONE MEENA LATEST NEWS NORTHERN GROUP SOUTHERN GROUP
OR TAILOR MAKE YOUR OWN ISLANDS' TOUR USING THE MENU ON THE LEFT
CYCLONE PERCY
The impact of Percy - the fourth cyclone in as many weeks - is still being felt deeply on the remote Northern Group islands of Nassau and Pukapuka. They received an almost direct hit when the cyclone was at its strongest. It was classified at the time as a category 4 to 5 cyclone on a scale where 5 is the most severe.
The impact of Percy - the fourth cyclone in as many weeks - is still being felt deeply on the remote Northern Group islands of Nassau and Pukapuka. They received an almost direct hit when the cyclone was at its strongest. It was classified at the time as a category 4 to 5 cyclone on a scale where 5 is the most severe.
CYCLONE RAE
When cyclone number five - Cyclone Rae - formed, it looked like the Cook Islands were in for another battering. This time though, it quickly lost strength, was downgraded to a tropical storm and then moved out into the Pacific. It passed 172 miles south west of the capital island of Rarotonga, causing only intermittent gales and squalls. But a couple in Arorangi had their house destroyed by a waterspout 2 hours after the cyclone warnings were cancelled.
When cyclone number five - Cyclone Rae - formed, it looked like the Cook Islands were in for another battering. This time though, it quickly lost strength, was downgraded to a tropical storm and then moved out into the Pacific. It passed 172 miles south west of the capital island of Rarotonga, causing only intermittent gales and squalls. But a couple in Arorangi had their house destroyed by a waterspout 2 hours after the cyclone warnings were cancelled.
The destruction caused to Pukapuka by Cyclone Percy. These photographs were taken by the crew of a New Zealand Air Force 'Orion' which overflew the island a few days after the cyclone struck.
The remoteness of the islands means that reports from them are few and far between. Television New Zealand was the only broadcaster to visit Pukapuka in the aftermath. These pictures are taken from that report (reproduced with permission of TVNZ One News).
Only 10 per cent of houses on Pukapuka survived intact. Traditional homes were washed away. On Nassau, 90 per cent of the modern structures were damaged; all thatched buildings were destroyed. A concerted effort to rebuild has been underway for three years, but again the remoteness of the two islands means it's a logistical nightmare.
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FIVE WEEKS OF FURY
The story of the 2005 cyclones
The story of the 2005 cyclones
