Wellington, March 17 (IANS): Communities along the east coast of New Zealand's North Island started cleaning up on Tuesday after the region was hit by tropical Cyclone Pam.

The residents of about 20 coastal homes in the Chatham Islands, a small group of islands about 750 km east of the South Island and home to about 600 people, had been told to evacuate.

Winds had peaked at about 80 km an hour, with gusts of up to almost 110 km per hour early Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Chatham Islands Mayor Alfred Preece said in the report that power was out in some households and some houses had suffered minor damage.

Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye said the New Zealand Defence Force would be available to help out in the Chatham Islands, if needed.

In the worst-hit area of Gisborne on the North Island, residents and workers were out clearing driftwood and debris off roads in coastal communities.

More than 100 people who had been evacuated as a precaution against inundation by the sea, flooding and land slips have returned to their homes.