Australian tourists are scrambling to safety as Fiji braces for what could be the worst cyclone to ever strike the South Pacific holiday destination.

Sydneysider Clare Melvin said today everyone was "pretty freaked out" as they prepared for the category-four Cyclone Tomas.

Airlines have delayed or cancelled flights between Australia and Fiji as the tropical cyclone moves in on Vanua Levu, thrashing the area with winds averaging up to 175km/h.

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A spokeswoman for Fiji Police, Ema Mua, said the nation was undertaking last-minute preparations for a "disastrous" thrashing.

"It's moving very, very slowly but at the same time it's picking up a lot, a lot, of force," Ms Mua said.

"That is why the categories have been proceeding. If it doesn't lessen down then it could be the worst to ever hit the country."

Matt Boterhoven, a senior forecaster at the Fiji Meteorological Service, said the island was taking a severe beating.

"Unfortunately we can’t get a lot of reports out of there at this point," Mr Boterhoven said.

Tomas was about 375 kilometres north-east of the capital, Suva, and was expected to intensify over the next 24 hours, he said this afternoon.

Ms Melvin was evacuated from her accommodation at Plantation Island yesterday afternoon.

"They basically said to us, ’If you’ve got kids, you should go’," said Ms Melvin, who has been holidaying in Fiji with her husband and two small children for a week.

"Everybody just jumped on this big boat and came back (to the mainland) and they just threw our luggage on the ground and we just all had to scramble for it.

Ms Melvin said of the 120 mostly Australian and New Zealand people staying at Plantation Island, 76 had decided to head back to Nadi and stay at the Raffles Gateway Hotel on Fiji’s largest island, Viti Levu.

Those that remained on the island would be huddled together in a conference room, she said.

Ms Melvin said everything in Nadi had been closed and people were preparing for the worst.

"All the Fijians are kind of freaking out themselves, you can tell, cause there’s no animals around," she said from her hotel room.

"It’s unusually still. It’s really weird. It’s just overcast and kind of dark, but yesterday afternoon the sky was a really strange colour, it was like dark orange and black."

Ms Melvin said women were crying in the hotel lobby and everyone was "pretty scared".

"Everybody’s talking about where they’re going to hide when it gets here," she said.

"Do we go in the bathroom? Or do we go in a cupboard? We’re all pretty freaked out.

The cyclone this afternoon hit the northern islands of Cikoba, part of the Vanua Levu group, where fierce winds reportedly tore off roofs and damaged crops.

Thousands of people fled to evacuation centres as hurricane-force winds averaging up to 175km/h were recorded in the area, the Fiji Meteorological Service said.

In the wake of the cyclone, Qantas, Air Pacific, V Australia and Virgin Blue cancelled or postponed flights to Fiji from Brisbane and Sydney.

V Australia and Virgin Blue also cancelled flights from Nadi, on the western side of Viti Levu, to Brisbane and Sydney.

A Virgin Blue spokesman said the airline was considering putting on an extra flight on Wednesday to Fiji, either from Brisbane or Sydney.

"Provided the weather holds, we expect to carry all guests on alternative flights within the next two days," he said.

A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline had postponed flights to Fiji for 24 hours, affecting about 80 passengers in Sydney and Brisbane.

The airlines will decide on Monday afternoon if more flights will be cancelled.

According to local media reports, the cyclone claimed its first victim yesterday when 31-year-old Fijian woman was killed trying to save her family from being washed away in huge waves that crashed into the coast of Vanua Levu.

The acting director of Fiji’s Disaster Management Office, Pajiliai Dobui, said more than 5000 people had been evacuated from their homes in Vanua Levu and were taking shelter in disaster centres.

"Our worry is how devastating the cyclone will be," he told Fiji’s local radio network, adding it may be the most destructive the nation has seen in a while.

The head official for the northern region, Inia Seruiratu, said weather conditions had become dramatically worse throughout this afternoon.

"You can see trees swaying and likewise the electrical wires and cables that are running between the poles," he told state radio.

Ms Mua said a curfew was lifted this morning to allow people to gather provisions but would be re-activated later in the day "for the safety of Fijian people".

AAP


http://www.theage.com.au/world/australian-tourists-scramble-as-fiji-braces-for-worst-cyclone-ever-20100315-q720.html