The Hurricanes/Tropical Storms I’ve experienced here in the Northeast (aside from Sandy, that was a bit more intense) often knock down a few telephone/electrical poles, and decorative trees planted in the wrong hardiness zone. (My mother loves to garden – she despises tropical storms because they turn the yard to disarray)

“We can joke about it in Auckland, but it has been pretty nasty in the poorer and more tropical parts of the South Pacific”

I remember the casualties from Hurricane Sandy were mostly poorer families who lived in low-lying areas. (There was controversy because they claim the government did not reach out enough to the poor to warn them).

I hope the Maori are okay (don’t mean to stereotype, its just, like the indigenous American tribes, Maori struggle with poverty and often lack access to electricity). & the farmers’ fields. & the cows *pictures cows blowing away, like in the movie Twister*