MetService's Whakatane instruments recorded maximum wind speeds of 100km/h, but Murray said higher speeds would have registered had they not been cut off when the town's power went out.
The MetService of New Zealand has issued warnings for heavy rain and strong winds for several areas of the North Island.
"Cyclone Cook is set to track southwards at a fast pace, bringing severe weather further south while clearing from the north and leaving more settled weather in its wake", Meteorologist Arno Dyason said.
The cyclone moved onto the Bay of Plenty at about 18:30 local time (06:30 GMT) on Thursday.
The storm has continues to bring heavy rains to the South Island, though the worst has passed and is expected to die out over the next few hours.
Parts of New Zealand's North Island are now under a state of emergency, with residents in the low-lying parts of Coromandel, which has already seen landslips and closed roads, being told to leave immediately.
Last week, another violent cyclone that struck Australia - Debbie - was also felt in some areas from New Zealand.
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The peaks at a Takapau Plains recording station were about 85km/h, but recordings were not available from traditional east coast tempest benchmark Cape Turnagain (where gusts of more than 200km/h have been recorded in the past), because contact with the station was lost earlier on Thursday.
She said: "We are watching very carefully, we're not through this yet".
Some local residents in New Zealand's Western Bay of Plenty were choosing to evacuate their homes on April 13, the New Zealand Herald said, as Cyclone Cook swept through.
Earlier this week, Cyclone Cook killed one person when it swept through the Pacific islands of New Caledonia.
National airline Air New Zealand warned of "significant disruption" from the weather with many flights likely to be delayed or cancelled.
Earlier in the day, the city prepared for the worst with gridlock on Auckland motorways as people sought to head off for Easter for the before the storm hit, while others were packing supermarkets buying up supplies.
Cyclone Cook hit land about 6pm on Thursday night.
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