A tropical cyclone feared to be the most serious storm to impact New Zealand this century is closing in – days after parts of the country were hit by deadly flooding.

Cyclone Gabrielle is set to unleash winds of up to 96mph (155kmph) and up to 400mm of rainfall across New Zealand.

National weather forecaster, MetService, issued a strong wind warning for Auckland, less than a fortnight after the country’s biggest city and other parts of the North Island were deluged by record rainfall, leading to flash floods and landslides which killed four people.

The category 3 cyclone is currently moving southeast from over Australia’s Norfolk Island, the MetService said on its website.

Wind and rain is starting to spread across New Zealand with Cape Reinga, the most northern point of the North Island, recording 133kmph gusts at 6am local time on Sunday (5pm Saturday GMT).

Auckland is likely to be hit by strong winds on Sunday night, with the worst impact set to come on Monday and Tuesday.

“We expect to see impacts from this cyclone from Saturday night, starting in the north and spreading south to other parts of the North Island,” MetService said.

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“This is expected to be a widespread and extreme weather event,” the forecaster added.

“Very heavy rain, damaging winds and large waves are forecast for many parts of northern and central New Zealand.”

Earlier this week, private forecaster, WeatherWatch, tweeted: “We don’t say this lightly – but this is looking like one of the most serious storms forecast for New Zealand so far this century,” adding that the northern half of the North Island is “especially exposed”.

Air New Zealand cancelled several flights due to depart from the North Island between Sunday and Tuesday.

Red warnings for heavy rain are in force for the Coromandel Peninsula and Gisborne, north of Tolaga Bay on the North Island.

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‘Don’t take any chances’

New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency warned people across the country to prepare for the possibility of power cuts and road closures and have a grab bag ready in case evacuation is necessary.

“Don’t take any chances,” the organisation tweeted.

It also urged people to be mindful of others when getting supplies – amid reports of long queues at supermarkets and empty shelves, with sandbags also said to be in short supply.

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New Zealand’s public broadcaster, RNZ, reported that Auckland’s deputy mayor, Desley Simpson, called on residents to have emergency plans and supplies in place by Sunday.

“Please ensure you only buy what you need for the next few days,” she said.

She also warned people to consider extended family, friends and pets, saying they should be “ready to leave” if needed.

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