Tonga was today assessing the damage as Cyclone Rene weakened and moved away from the Pacific island nation.
There had been no reports of injuries or fatalities although the full extent of damage on the outer islands was unclear and communications with Vava'u and Ha'apai were intermittent or out.
The New Zealand Government was monitoring the situation and talking to the Tongan government, as well as Australia and France, about the best use of collective resources in planning for a possible response.
A spokesman from Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully's office said Tongan authorities were continuing to assess damage, which was taking time because communications infrastructure between Tongan islands had been disrupted.
He said it was still unclear in some areas whether immediate emergency assistance was needed, or whether aid would be better directed to reconstruction efforts.
It was too early to say whether financial assistance may be needed or to what extent Tonga may be able to cope with its own recovery efforts.
A large number of trees were down in Nukualofa, and there was some minor damage to buildings.
It was thought there had been no major loss of housing, but root plantations and fruit trees had sustained considerable damage. A cleanup was underway and the airports were operational.
Meanwhile an RNZAF C130 Hercules has transported relief supplies and a New Zealand Defence Force engineering team to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, to help with recovery efforts in the wake of last week's Cyclone Pat.
The engineering team will be based in Aitutaki and the Hercules will continue to fly supplies between Rarotonga and Aitutaki.
New Zealand has made an initial contribution of $200,000 for relief and recovery efforts and the Government will continue to work with authorities in the Cook Islands to decide how New Zealand could best support recovery efforts on Aitutaki.
