The Taranaki Port has been preparing for the stormy weather ex-cyclone Gita is bringing to New Zealand. Taranaki Port's chief executive officer Guy Roper tells us what the coast is looking like.
"We'll close from 10 o'clock this morning, we'll put two ships to sea just ahead of the high tide at midday and we'll close the lee breakwater for safety which we normally have open for the public," he said.
"The weather is relatively calm, the wind is strengthening, we've had quite a bit of rain overnight but it's pretty much on forecast."
He said waves of 4.5m to 5m were forecast, which was not as high as the previous storm.
"It's really the energy that we have in the harbour round the vessels. So it's the sea and the forecast waves that we've got - the breakwaters will do their job but it's a precautionary measure.
"We're expecting the winds to be strong mid to late afternoon but what is of most interest to us is the high tide early on Wednesday morning so we'll have a review mid to late morning to update the position."
