Update: 5:57PM FIJIANS living in New Zealand’s capital city yesterday felt the intensity of Tropical Cyclone Gita as its fierce gusts and torrential downpours made landfall through North Island yesterday afternoon.
New Zealand resident and Fijian-born Sita Naidu-Kumar said the strong winds started at around 5pm yesterday and it later intensified into the evening.
“It was a scary experience for my family because we have seen the destruction the cyclone has caused in Tonga in the past week. The winds were very strong and this was complemented by very heavy rain,” Mrs Naidu-Kumar said.
“Here in Wellington, there have been a lot of damage to homes near Pukerua Bay, and Plimmerton beach as trees have fallen on houses. Roads are blocked because of the huge trees blocking the roads.
“Highway lanes between Pukerua and Paekakariki was shut this morning at 12.30 as the tide was washing across both lanes.”
Mrs Naidu-Kumar said luckily, the winds had weakened as TC Gita was moving further away from New Zealand.
“Today, we will just be cleaning up outside and probably help our neighbours remove debris from our compounds.
“We just thank God there were no injuries or damage to our home.”
