Damage extensive, people speechless after cyclone

Cyclone Pat pummeled Aitutaki in the early hours of Wednesday morning causing widespread damage, leaving people in a state of shock and speechless.
CITV newsman Travel Moeara traveled to Cyclone damaged Aitutaki on Wednesday at 3.30pm and returned to Rarotonga on Thursday at 10am with film footage of the widespread damage caused by Cyclone Pat. He accompanied Emergency Management Cook Islands Director Charles Carlson on a tour of Aitutaki to film the damage caused by Cyclone Pat when it struck the island at 2am on Wednesday. Moeara toured the whole island with the exception of the village of Nikau Pare. He reported that the most damage occurred in Vaipae and Tautu Villages where the high winds struck first. Many roofs were lost because they were not secured. It appears the people were not expecting such high winds and were expecting a sea surge which never came. Surprisingly, the sea was relatively calm. There was no power or water and phones were not working in most areas. He reported that the high winds caused a domino effect with the roof from one house being blown onto the neighbouring roof and so on. Vonnias and Maina Traders were affected with Vonnias losing its roof and Maina Traders losing half of its roof. At the secondary schools the roof of one block was blown off. One point of interest he noted was that he was unable to interview many people because it appeared they were still in a state of shock. They were speechless. He said they were still trying to come to terms with the extent of the damage which was something they had not previously experienced. Damage to vegetation, trees, private homes and commercial properties was very extensive Moeara said. The main damage to buildings was to the roof structures. Many homes had missing roofs. Timber was strewn around properties however, roads had been cleared of debris. Trees, some quite large, had been uprooted or had branches broken off. Some power lines had come down.