Death toll rises as Fiji cleans up after 'strongest ever' cyclone

Road workers remove a fallen tree blocking a road near Lami, Fiji on February 21, 2016, after cyclone Winston ripped through the country. Officials in Fiji are assessing damage in the wake of the ferocious cyclone. Jonacani Lalakobau/Fiji Times via APShow less

Suva, Fiji // Fiji began a massive clean-up on Sunday after the most powerful cyclone in the Pacific island nation’s history left a trail of destruction, killing five people and crippling vital infrastructure.

The category five super-storm lashed the popular tourist destination overnight on Saturday, packing wind gusts approaching 300 kilometres per hour, according to the joint typhoon warning centre.

Prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and the Red Cross said five people were killed.

Officials said one man died on Koro Island, reportedly from debris sent flying during severe tropical cyclone Winston, the first-ever storm system to hit Fiji measuring a maximum category five.

Aid agencies admitted they had no idea about the full extent of the destruction, as Fijians shared pictures on social media of roofless houses, flooded streets and metal signposts bent over by the wild winds.

Save the Children Fiji chief Iris Low-McKenzie said it was too early to assess the impact on outlying islands, although unconfirmed reports said thousands of homes had been destroyed and entire villages flattened.

“I’m especially concerned about the remote communities in outlying areas that we haven’t been able to contact yet,” she said.

“Until communications are re-established and we assess the damage, we won’t know the full extent of the situation.”

The capital Suva escaped the full fury of the storm but Ms Low-McKenzie said it was still a terrifying experience.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” she said. “The noise was frightening as roofs were blown off homes and trees were ripped out by their roots.”

Mr Bainimarama said the storm amounted to an “assault on Fiji”, an impoverished nation of about 900,000 heavily reliant on its tourism industry.

“It is being described as one of the most powerful in recorded history ... as a nation, we are facing an ordeal of the most grievous kind,” he said in a national address on Saturday.

Mr Bainimarama declared a state of natural disaster for a month and the government imposed a curfew.

All schools, many of which are being used as evacuation centres, were ordered closed for one week.

Many residents spent the night huddled in the shelters, where they were given food and water.

Falling trees cut power and blocked roads on the main island of Viti Levu, where all flights were cancelled as high winds buffeted Nadi international airport.

Suva resident Danny Southcombe said while the capital escaped the brunt of the storm, it was still brought to a standstill.

“It’s pretty calm now but when I look around all I can see is trees on the road,” he said.

The military mobilised troops for the relief effort.

New Zealand led the international response, sending P-3 Orion aircraft to help assess damage in remote communities, while Australia’s foreign minister Julie Bishop offered to do the same.

The acting head of the Red Cross’s Pacific office Ahmad Sami said an accurate gauge of the storm’s impact would take time.

“We anticipate that humanitarian needs will be very high,” he said.

* Agence France-Presse