<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">New Zealand's prime minister on Sunday warned residents to hunker down and prepare an evacuation plan as a cyclone began pummelling the northern tip of the country.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cyclone Gabrielle is forecast to envelop the upper half of the North Island over a 48-hour period from Sunday evening, two weeks after parts of the same region experienced devastating flooding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Auckland remains under a state of emergency after flash floods swamped the city on January 27, resulting in four deaths and forcing thousands from their homes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Debris from that deluge remains on the streets of the country's biggest city, which now faces another bout of heavy rainfall and severe winds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said everyone should be ready to face the threats posed by flooding, huge ocean swells and strong winds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Our main message to people across the country is to please take the severe weather warning seriously and to make sure you're prepared," he told journalists.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Make sure you've got your grab-and-go kits, make sure you know where you need to go in the event you need to evacuate your homes."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The MetService weather bureau measured wind gusts of up to 140 kilometres per hour (86 miles per hour) in northern New Zealand on Sunday morning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"This system poses a very high risk of extreme, impactful, and unprecedented weather over many regions of the North Island from Sunday to Tuesday," the MetService said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cyclone is forecast to weaken slightly as it moves slowly south on Monday and Tuesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Strong winds forced the closure of Auckland's Harbour Bridge on Sunday, while most flights into and out of Auckland Airport on Monday have already been cancelled.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gabrielle was downgraded from a tropical cyclone as it approached New Zealand, meaning wind speeds and rainfall would be slightly less intense.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The storm passed over Australia's remote Norfolk Island on Saturday night, where there were reports of downed trees and power cuts but no significant damage. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>