More than 10,000 evacuated in Fiji cyclone

Wellington, March 16: Tropical Cyclone Tomas battered Fiji for a second day as more than 10,000 people took shelter in evacuation centres Tuesday throughout the Pacific island nation.

Torrential rains and winds averaging 175 km an hour generated waves up to seven metres high on the second biggest island Vanua Levu, flooding villages, toppling trees and bringing down power and communication lines, according to reports from the capital, Suva.

The director of Fiji's disaster management centre, Pajiliai Dobui, said communication had been lost on Vanua Levu and outlying islands including Taveuni and Lau, and the extent of the damage would not be known until Wednesday.

The category four cyclone, with winds gusting up to 230 km an hour, was reported to be the worst in more than 30 years to hit Fiji.

Early Tuesday, after an overnight curfew over much of the country was lifted, the eye of the cyclone was about 240 km from Suva.

It was expected to pass by the main island of Viti Levu. But forecasts said the island would still experience hurricane-force winds and massive seas, and schools and most government offices in the capital remained closed.

Fiji's international airport at Nadi, on Viti Levu, which was closed Monday, was expected to reopen, and Tourism Fiji said it had not received any reports of tourists being endangered at scores of resorts around the country.

All resorts were reported to have been on full alert since Friday and were fully stocked with food, water and emergency medical supplies. There was still only one known death, a woman swept out to sea when caught on a beach by huge waves.

Meanwhile, another cyclone, Ului, which strafed the Solomon Islands Monday in the northern Pacific, was reported to be moving into open waters.

It still brought wind gusts of more than 200 km an hour, and there were reports of a number of houses being destroyed or damaged on some islands, but there were no reports of casualties, Radio New Zealand International reported.

--IANS

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