By Jono Hutchison
Tropical Cyclone Pat has moved away from the Cook Islands without hitting Rarotonga.
But early this morning, the smaller, neighbouring island of Aitutaki was lashed with strong winds and rain.
Strong gusts caused most of the damage.
"A lot of debris, trees broken, some trees losing leaves etcetera, but varying degrees of damage around the island itself," described witness Steven Doherty.
Aitutaki is around 260km north of Rarotonga. It is a tourist destination, and the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation says visitors were looked after.
"We were prepared," says Chris Ingram. "We managed to get visitors to the destination, to safe areas as well, and there were no injuries."
Damage to the island's businesses appears to have been minimal.
"The resorts that we've had information from have all reported minor damage, but structurally none of them are actually that affected and they expect to be back to business as normal shortly," says Mr Ingram.
Steven Doherty has lived on Aitutaki for five years, and says the community has been pulling together for the cleanup.
"Some businesses have opened to provide food and other necessities that some families may need, but the majority have closed in order to assist around the island."
While no flights have been cancelled, House of Travel says it has been keeping an eye on conditions
"We have about 200 people heading there over the next couple of weeks, and we're making contact with them, just making sure they want to continue their travel arrangements," says David Fordyce.
Cyclone Pat was headed for Rarotonga, but it moved off to the southwest and the cyclone warnings were cancelled.
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