Rarotonga was hammered with heavy rain and high winds on Friday bringing wide spread surface flooding, sea surges and road closures to the island.

The rough weather conditions experienced in Rarotonga are set to persist, at least until Sunday, says Cook Islands Meteorological Services.

Police issued cautionary notices late Thursday as rain battered the island overnight.

Residents were warned to avoid areas prone to sea surges with Avarua and Avatiu identified as locations at risk. Both areas experienced high swells and surface flooding.

Rough seas overnight resulted in road debris, particularly around the harbour areas.

While main road accessibility was less than average for drivers, the Nikao seawall was off limits and closed for the day.

Shops closed early on Friday as people sought shelter. It follows a week of persistent rain, high winds and surges as multiple tropical depressions have made their way across the Cooks.

A gale force warning remains in place with winds up to 90 kmph.

The Air New Zealand flight from Auckland made multiple attempts to land but was forced to turn back to New Zealand. 

Other air travel was delayed and rescheduled while an evacuation notice to vessels has been extended to Tuesday.      

“There will be plenty of litter to clean up next week,” Air Rarotonga managing director Ewan Smith said.

“It’s pretty much the same out there,” he said of the outer islands.  “We are running with delays to some flights. Possibly several flights to Ngaputoru will be rescheduled till tomorrow (Saturday).”

Rarotonga International Airport chief executive Joe Ngamata reported airport teams had been on standby to deal with weather related issues since Saturday last week.

Cook Islands Port Authority harbour master John Jessie said a skeleton crew remained on duty overnight on Friday to monitor the harbour.

Two ships, one from Niue and one from New Zealand would be delayed.   

It was a battle against the tide at Trader Jacks on Friday with “a lot of beach through the restaurant”.

“We won’t be open today lunch and dinner ... the crayfish mac and cheese will have to wait,” Traders operator Chris Douglas said.

Staff spent much of the day cleaning up and would be calling on fire and emergency staff to hose out the property in the coming days.

On the eastern side of the island, Muri Beach Club Hotel general manager and Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council president Liana Scott was cleaning up at first light on Friday.

“More wind than sea on the east side of the island, and it seems we dodged roughly what could have been very serious, but of course there is always something else on the horizon which we are watching further up north.

“This weather is not unusual for this time of year, just a shame the new arrivals are experiencing it.”

Scott reported visitors “have been great and just happy to be here”. 

“Strangely, no one is asking what the weather is doing. There have been a few tours that have had to cancel which is a bit of a shame.”

On the western side of the island it was business as usual for at least two tourist operators.

Paul Ash at Castaway said staff had removed furniture from the beach but the operation remained open.

“We are all fine, as long as the wind stays away.”

At On the Beach, operator Phil Nordt said he was fully booked on Friday evening, “business as usual”.

“Besides the fact that it’s wet, it’s all go.”   

At Prime Foods in Avarua, staff were battening down the hatches and boarding up the windows as part of a training exercise.

Owner Dan Forsyth said windows on the first floor of the supermarket building were boarded up on Friday.

Brackets were put in place on windows on the ground floor of the building on Friday in preparation for rough weather.

“If you have been watching the weather over the past few weeks you know we need to be prepared,” Forsyth said.