New Zealand has commissioned a Cook Islands-based researcher to upgrade coastal defences around its beachfront High Commission premises in Rarotonga.
The Cook Islands News reports repairs to three houses in the compound as a result of waves from cyclones last season will cost 56,000 US dollars.
The commission is looking into whether coastal protection units designed by the consultant Don Dorrell can be used to protect the houses from a cyclone.
In the design for the New Zealand high commission houses, the concrete armour would run almost 90 metres along the front of the rock wall at the edge of the property, with several additional units being used to protect the sides.
