People in the Kawakawa Bay and Orere Point areas in Auckland's south east - two areas already battered by previous weather events - are being warned they may again be isolated by road and be without power or phone for a substantial amount of time.
Due to the forecast storm conditions, Air New Zealand advises customers to anticipate delays and cancellations across its network.
Thames-Coromandel District Council staff, rural fire officers and Defence Force personnel in four Unimogs were helping residents and checking on properties, he said.
The worst of the weather is expected to hit Thursday afternoon through Friday night.
Just before 5am, the cyclone was about 350km northeast of the North Island and moving south, MetService severe weather forecaster Gerard Barrow said.
It was too hard to give an estimate on how many people have been affected across Coromandel by flooding or self-evacuations.
Flooding was likely in those places, including the flood-stricken Bay of Plenty town of Edgecumbe, while severe gales could cause structural damage.
MetService is warning locals to brace for power outages and road blocks with the cyclone to bring similar conditions to the storm that sunk the Wahine in 1968, killing 51 passengers.
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"A lot of people have been comparing it with [Giselle]". This is about an 80 to 250km difference and is very normal when a tropical storm approaches any country.
-Motorists are being advised by the NZ Transport Agency to plan ahead now for the possible closure of the Auckland Harbour Bridge if wind levels become strong later today.
This means they will all be closed until the end of the school holidays.
"We're asking people to self-evacuate - we're not dictating". He doesn't know numbers, but says "we're not talking hundreds and hundreds of people".
If you get stuck in a flood, get out of your vehicle and move to higher ground immediately, taking great care in the floodwaters. "When this storm arrives it's going to bring a 3 - 5m storm surge".
Heavy rain has already fallen in parts of New Zealand due to a separate low pressure system forming over the Tasman Sea.
Northland saw the most rain. In the 33 hours from 9am this morning to 6pm Thursday, 120-160mm is forecast to accumulate. Dunedin should see Cook's remnants move in across Friday with it clearing New Zealand in the early hours of Saturday morning around Stewart Island.
More than 100 schools were shut and universities in Auckland were closing early on Thursday.
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