Wellington: Remote communities on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island were evacuated on Monday as tropical Cyclone Pam brought gales, torrential rains and huge waves to the coastal areas.

The storm had passed through the north of the North Island and the city of Auckland with little impact, but it had been reclassified as "an intense tropical cyclone" early on Monday, Xinhua reported, citing a statement from the government's MetService weather bureau.