Tropical Cyclone Hola headed towards New Caledonia after battering Vanuatu

The cyclone was expected to veer southeast towards New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands on Friday, bringing severe wind, rain and waves, New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research (NIWA) said.

By: Reuters
Wellington | March 9, 2018 08:26 AM IST

1 min read

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FILE - In this Monday, Nov. 2, 2015 file photo, A tropical Cyclone Chapala batters Mukalla, Yemen. Yemen's Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing that struck a coast guard base in the southern port city of Mukalla at dawn Thursday, May 12, 2016 killing at least six troops in the first major attack in a city once occupied by its rival group, al-Qaida. (AP Photo/Mohammed Bazahier, File)

Tropical Cyclone Hola was set to batter New Caledonia on Friday, after tearing off roofs and knocking out communications in Vanuatu earlier in the week. The storm weakened to a category 3 from category 4, Fiji’s Meteorology Service said on Thursday evening.

The cyclone was expected to veer southeast towards New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands on Friday, bringing severe wind, rain and waves, New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research (NIWA) said.

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The Red Cross in Vanuatu told Radio New Zealand that the storm had blown over houses on Malekula and Ambrym Islands, forcing many residents into evacuation centres on Wednesday and Thursday. It had also damaged the cellphone network in parts of the country, the Red Cross and UNICEF said.

New Zealand’s Metservice warned the remnants of the storm could hit New Zealand early the following week, bringing heavy rain, wind and large costal swells to the country’s upper North Island.

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