Tropical cyclone Fili is moving to the south-southeast away from New Caledonia.
By Thursday evening the Category Two system's centre was expected to be about 140 kilometres south of Noumea.
The main road connecting the main island north to south has been flooded and more than 3000 homes have lost their electricity connections.
Rescue alerts levels are in place for 16 northern districts in the territory.
About 80 to 150 millimetres of rain's forecast over the next 12 hours, with waves up to 5 metres predicted.
Cyclone Fili tracking map Thursday afternoon 7th April Photo: courtesy of Fiji Met Service