Cyclone Winston: Six Dead After Record-Breaking Storm Hits Fiji
byThe Associated Press
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Most of Fiji was
without electricity Sunday and residents were told to stay inside for a
second straight night as officials scrambled to restore services and
assess damage in the wake of a ferocious cyclone that left at least six
people dead and destroyed homes.
Winds from Cyclone Winston, which tore through
the Pacific Island chain over the weekend, reached 180 miles per hour,
making it the strongest storm in the Southern Hemisphere since
record-keeping began, according to Weather.com.
Although the weather calmed Sunday, a curfew was
extended through early Monday and police were empowered to make arrests
without a warrant to ensure order. Related: Powerful Cyclone Winston Hits Fiji, Killing at Least Six
In a televised address to the nation Sunday,
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said many people had been left without
power, fresh water or communications.
"The damage has been widespread, homes have been
destroyed, many low-lying areas have flooded, and many people have been
left stunned and confused about what to do," he said.
He said that the police and military had been
brought in to help with rescue operations and the general cleanup, and
that government agencies were working overtime to clear roads and
restore power.
"This is a time of sorrow, but it will also be a
time of action," Bainimarama said. "We will stand united in the face of
this disaster."
Officials were trying to establish
communications and road access to the hardest-hit areas, and said they
would not know the full extent of the damage and injuries until then.
George Dregaso of Fiji's National Disaster
Management Office said that two people on Ovalau Island died when the
house they were sheltering in collapsed on them, and that another man
was killed on Koro Island, although it wasn't clear how.
A family digs through the remains of their home in the town of Ba after it was destroyed by severe tropical cyclone Winston. NAZIAH ALI / AFP - Getty Images
Authorities also said three people on the main island of Viti Levu were killed in the storm, but didn't have more details.
Tourism Minister Faiyaz Siddiq Koya said that
all tourists in Fiji were safe and that there was no significant damage
to the majority of hotels on the main island. Fiji is a popular tourist
destination, known for its beach resorts and scuba diving.
Cyclone Winston hit Fiji on Saturday and moved
westward overnight along the northern coast of Viti Levu. Fiji's
capital, Suva, located in the southern part of the main island, was not
directly in the cyclone's path and avoided the worst of its destructive
power.
Cyclone Winston Eyewitness: 'I Thought We Were All Going to Die'
1:08
"Truth be told, we've gotten off pretty lightly
here in the capital," said Alice Clements, a spokeswoman for UNICEF. "It
was still a pretty awful night. You could hear crashing trees and power
lines, and popping rivets as roofs got lifted and ripped out."
She said there was foliage everywhere that looked like it had been put through a blender.
About 80 percent of the nation's 900,000 people
were without regular power, although about one-third of them were able
to get some electricity from generators, said Dregaso, the disaster
office official. Landlines throughout Fiji were down, but most mobile
networks were working.
Dregaso said there were 483 people who had
evacuated from their homes and were staying in 32 emergency shelters. He
said he expected the number of evacuees to rise.
Authorities were urging people to remain indoors
as they cleared fallen trees and power lines. They said that all
schools would be closed for a week to allow time for the cleanup, and
that three universities would be closed until further notice.
The government declared a 30-day state of natural disaster, giving extra powers to police to arrest people without a warrant.
The government said the curfew would end at 5:30 a.m. Monday.
"The curfew has been imposed to protect lives and protect property," Prime Minister Bainimarama said in his address.
Clements, the UNICEF spokeswoman, said there was
particular concern for people on the northern part of the main island
and on smaller islands. She said that many would have lost their homes
and livelihoods, and that some tourist resorts on the outer islands may
have been damaged.
The airport reopened Sunday to allow emergency flights, Dregaso said, after many flights had been canceled the da
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