Update Monday:
Blue sky, white clouds, sun shining, seawall road open, boats back in harbour, tourists out and about, debris cleared from roads and harbour surrounds.
We’ve had a rough few days on Rarotonga with heavy rain, high winds and huge waves pounding the coastal areas as a tropical depression passed by.
The harbour has been evacuated for the past week, with fishing boats and inter-island ships sheltering to the southwest of Rarotonga.
The weather caused surface flooding of low lying areas particularly around Avatiu and Avarua and the Nikao seawall road was closed for several days.
The rough seas and high winds left debris everywhere but, near Trader Jack’s and the Empire bridge, the Landholdings construction wall kept branches, palm fronds and trunks from spilling onto the road.
Many shops closed early on Friday and opened late on Saturday.
Air New Zealand’s Friday flight tried several times to land but eventually returned to Auckland and both Saturday flights were cancelled.
At Black Rock the waves have carried coral rocks and gravel into the channel - there will be no more jumping into the pool there for a while.
The weather forecast is for more rain and thunder for the next few days and then we should have some dry sunny days so things will have a chance to dry out.
More details here:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/460063/cook-islands-main-island-battered-by-storm
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/01/22/rarotonga-flights-cancelled-as-storm-batters-islands/
