Norfolk Island has avoided the strongest winds but still faced a wild night and widespread damage as Cyclone Gabrielle passed directly over the Australian territory.
The centre of the category two storm passed near the South Pacific island about 9pm local time on Saturday, with the ABC reporting residents downed trees, blocked roads and widespread power outages early in the night.
Gabrielle hit with sustained winds near the centre of 110km/h, with gusts to 155km/h, falling short of warnings of possible sustained winds up to 140km/h, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
However, gale-force winds were likely to resume for a period early on Sunday after Gabrielle passes the island, it said.
"We expect the centre of the circulation to move across Norfolk Island overnight and then start moving away from Norfolk Island (in the) early hours of Sunday morning," Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Dean Narramore said on Saturday.
"But on the backside, we expect another burst of strong to destructive winds as well as some bursts of heavy rainfall and a continuing damaging surf and swell."
The storm is expected to continue to track southeast out of the tropics and is predicted to pass New Zealand on Monday night, according to Weatherwatch.co.nz.
Gale periods are expected over Norfolk Island into Sunday afternoon, with the bureau warning very heavy surf could also persist through most of Sunday.
A hazardous surf warning was in place for the Fraser Island coast, and waters off Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast until midnight on Monday.
An emergency evacuation centre was made available on Saturday morning, with the island home to about 2000 residents and an estimated up to 950 visitors remaining there after they were urged to leave.
"There is no way to evacuate the island with weather like this (when) you can't get aircraft in so we just have to ride it out," Norfolk Island Regional Council controller George Plant told the ABC.
Teams of military and emergency personnel were on standby to respond as needed.
