Cyclone Maila could cross the Far North Queensland coast early next week and Cyclone Vaianu is expected to bring destructive wind and heavy rain to New Zealand’s North Island on Sunday.

New Zealand’s MetService has issued red warnings for wind on the Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island, with gusts of 140km/h potentially felling trees and damaging powerlines and roofs.

Gusts of 120km/h-130km/h are expected across much of the North Island.

Heavy rain warnings have been issued for areas including Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty west of Whakatane, including Rotorua.

“The entire North Island is in the firing line, some [areas] more than others,” MetService head of weather news Heather Keats said.

Vaianu will bring short, intense rainfall and coastal inundation, she says.

New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency says more rain on already saturated ground means impacts such as fallen trees, landslides, flooding and dangerous river conditions are more likely.

This month, Insurance Council of NZ CEO Kris Faafoi called for political commitments on resilience ahead of this year’s election.

“In just the first three months of 2026, there were at least 100 days when parts of the country were under a local state of emergency. Northland alone declared three emergencies in that time,” he said.

“Global reinsurers closely watch how countries manage their exposure to risk. Strong, co-ordinated action like clear planning rules and sustained investment in resilience send a powerful signal that risk is being taken seriously.”

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology is monitoring Cyclone Maila, which was at category 3 intensity in the Solomon Sea today and is expected to move slowly south of Papua New Guinea while weakening.

“From Sunday, Maila may track west-southwest towards the Far North Queensland coast, possibly crossing Cape York Peninsula next week,” the bureau said.

“Another possible scenario is for Maila to weaken near or over southeast Papua New Guinea over the weekend and not cross the Queensland coast as a tropical cyclone.”

Maila was about 800km east of Port Moresby this morning, with gusts of 195km/h.