The Fiji Met Office says people in Tonga's outer islands of Ha'apai and Nomuka are expected to be the first islands to experience the full intensity of Cyclone Rene this afternoon.
The Fiji Meteorological Service says that Cyclone Rene is now south south west of Vava'u in Central Tonga, and has winds of up to 166 kilometers per hour at its centre
Tonga's National Disaster Management Office is busy preparing responses throughout the various island groups.
A cyclone forecaster speaking from Nadi, Alipate Waqaicelua, says Cyclone Rene doesn't appear to be losing intensity on its current path, and winds are expected to get worse.
"At the moment Haapai and Nomuka are next on line. In fact they'll be just slightly east off track but it does not give them any reprieve from the cyclone because the forward left quadrant of the cyclone is always where the most destruction occurs, very close to the centre. So Haapai, Nomuka, Nukualofa, and Eua - essentially the rest of the central and southern Tonga are in line."
