Tropical Cyclone Wati has left its mark on one of the South Pacific’s most celebrated lagoons. The Category 2 system damaged the harbour causeway on Aitutaki in the Cook Islands — infrastructure that had only recently received multimillion-dollar upgrades — causing minor boat and property damage, power outages and no reported injuries.
The Fiji Meteorological Service’s RSMC Nadi centre kept a storm warning in force for Aitutaki and a gale warning for Mauke and Mangaia on Monday, with winds of 78 to 113 km/h already recorded on Aitutaki and storm-force gusts of 100 to 141 km/h forecast. Officials estimate recovery on the island at about a week, though the harbour setback could take several months.
Wati was not the only coastal threat on Monday’s map. In the Atlantic, North Carolina’s Outer Banks sat under a coastal flood warning until Wednesday evening, with a gale warning, a high surf advisory running to Thursday morning, 14-foot surf and a risk of overwash on Highway NC-12 around Hatteras and Ocracoke.
Officials on both sides of the Pacific issued the same warning: do not drive through seawater or around barricades, and expect rip currents and beach erosion to persist after the winds ease.
