Death toll from ferocious Fiji cyclone rises to 3

The tail end of Tropical Cyclone Winston that has battered Fiji could brush over New Zealand in a week’s time. “I have not experienced anything like this before in my life, nor has my 60-year-old father”.

However, relief may be in sight.

The country’s disaster management reportedly said that the government has imposed a curfew on all public transportation, including busses, minibuses and taxis.

Photos shared on social media with the hashtag #PrayForFiji showed an idyllic paradise beset by flooded streets, roofless houses and downed palm trees.

“TC Winston is reported to be the strongest storm in South Pacific history, potentially adversely affecting much of Fiji’s population”, said UNICEF New Zealand’s Executive Director, Vivien Maidaborn. This front will bring various amounts of rain to southern and western areas, with the heavier falls forecast for Westland and Fiordland.

Other nations, including Australia, offered assistance.

It said New Zealand could experience some remnants of Winston at the end of the coming week, but that it was difficulty to predict.

TC Winston could track towards New Zealand, with some computer models predicting the remnants of Winston to lie to the north of the country on Friday. The cyclone moved westward overnight along the northern coast of the main island, Viti Levu, before continuing out to sea.

While authorities were waiting until daylight to make a full assessment of the damage, only one person was reported killed by the cyclone.

“We are well-organized and prepared”, said Eseroma Ledua, operations manager at the Fiji Red Cross.

He said about 80 percent of the nation’s 900,000 people were without regular power, although about one-third of those were able to get some power from generators.

Mutch said being in the storm was incredibly loud and described the sound as very noisy static.

Flights to Fiji were canceled on Saturday and Clements said some tourist resorts on the outer islands may have suffered damage.

Fiji hit by Cyclone Winstone. (In the Northwest Pacific, it would be a typhoon; all three are the same weather phenomenon).

“We can not afford to be complacent”, it quoted the prime minister as saying. The team in Fiji are working hard to fully assess damage and restore the network as quickly as possible.

The Fijian government has declared a 30-day state of emergency amid concerns of flash flooding and mudslides.

People are splashed by a wave whipped up by the encroaching cyclone Winston in Labasa, Fiji, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016.

Wind speeds from Cyclone Winston were estimated at up to 285 kilometers (177 miles) per hour.