Cyclone Irene

Flooding, power cuts in Vanuatu capital as Cyclone Irene hits

RNZ Pacific's correspondent in Port Vila said there's flooding in some areas of the capital and road blocks caused by fallen trees.

Hilaire Bule said some parts of Port Vila were enduring power cuts.

Irene has caused mainly damage to the fruits trees such as avocado and banana.

The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazard Department said Irene is expected to hit the Island of Tanna, in south Vanuatu at midday Thursday local time.

A red alert is in place for Tafea, Shefa and Malampa provinces, while Penama and Sanma provinces are on yellow alert.

Cyclone Irene bearing down on Vanuatu

At 2am local time on Thursday the category-1 storm was located about 215km south-west of Efate and 285km west-north-west of Tanna.

The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department said winds close to the centre were estimated at about 80km per hour.

The Department says damaging gale force winds of 75km per hour with gusts up to 100km will continue to affect the area within 140 nautical miles north-east from the centre of the system and is expected to affect the provinces of Tafea and Shefa from Thursday night to early morning.