New Caledonia braces for Cyclone Donna
Ben Domensino,
Monday May 8, 2017 - 11:23 AEST
Severe Tropical Cyclone Donna is heading towards New Caledonia after causing a trail of damage in northern Vanuatu on the weekend.
Donna formed to the east of Vanuatu last week before intensifying and moving across the county's northern island group on the weekend.
There are reports of wind damage to buildings and crops in the Torba Province, while heavy rain caused flash flooding in the country's capital Port Vila.
Cyclone Donna is now on the western side of Vanuatu and has become even stronger during the last 24 hours. The Fiji Met Service estimate that wind speeds near its centre were exceeding 180km/h this morning, which equates to a category four cyclone on the Australian scale.
Donna is expected to move towards the south-southeast during the next few days, on a path that would move it towards New Caledonia.
The main threat for Vanuatu from now on will be heavy rain that may cause further flooding. Conditions will deteriorate in New Caledonia during the next 24 hours, with damaging to destructive winds, very heavy rain and a storm surge all possible in the next two days.
Meteo France predicts that wave heights may exceed six metres at Ouveau Island, which would cause coastal inundation, particularly on high tide. The heaviest rain and strongest winds will be on the eastern side of New Caledonia based on the current track. Conditions should ease from Wednesday as Donna moves away to the south.
Looking further ahead, the remnants of cyclone Donna may move far enough south to affect New Zealand around Thursday or Friday. While it's still too early to know if this will be the case, there is an increased risk of flooding at the end of the week.
- Weatherzone
© Weatherzone
2017