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Fiji Declares a State of Natural Disaster in the Wake of a Fierce Cyclone Fiji Declares a State of Natural Disaster After Fierce Cyclone
(35 minutes later)
SYDNEY — Government officials declared a state of natural disaster in Fiji after a cyclone tore through the archipelago on Saturday, destroying villages on islands in the east of the country. By late last night, news reports said, the death toll had risen to three as authorities continued to assess the damage. SYDNEY — Government officials declared a state of natural disaster in Fiji after a cyclone tore through the archipelago on Saturday, destroying villages and leaving five dead, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama described Cyclone Winston, a Category 5 cyclone with winds up to 143 miles per hour and gusts up to 202 miles per hour, as the most powerful such storm in the country’s recorded history. Mr. Bainimarama described Cyclone Winston, a Category 5 cyclone with winds up to 143 miles per hour and gusts up to 202 miles per hour, as the most powerful such storm in the country’s recorded history.
Akapusi Tuifagalele, the director of the National Disaster Management Office, said by telephone Sunday that the worst-affected areas were the outlying islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. “The damage has been widespread,” he said in a statement. “Many are without power and full access to water and are cut off from communication.”
“The eastern division has felt the brunt of the cyclone,” he said. “We know there are trees down, roofs off, and we have declared a national state of natural disaster to keep the community safe,” Mr. Tuifagalele said. “Emergency workers need to be able to clear roads and move debris.” Aid workers said roofs had been blown off houses, power lines were down, roads were blocked by trees and some villages had been flooded by heavy rain.
Power lines are down and communications with outlying islands is patchy, he said. Government officials are to meet later Sunday to assess the damage and begin the recovery effort. At a hospital in the western district, patients were evacuated after a ward lost part of its roof, and at a hospital in the central district, an intensive care ward, operating room and maternity ward were flooded, Fiji’s national emergency operation center said on Sunday.
A curfew was enforced Saturday to ensure that residents remained indoors. Mr. Tuifagalele said it was likely schools would remain closed for a week. He said most of the buildings in Suva, the country’s capital, appeared to have only minor damage. Suva is on the island of Viti Levu, southwest of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. An elderly man died on Koro, an island to the east of Viti Levu, the main island, after a roof collapsed. Ewan Perrin, a spokesman for the prime minister, said that four other people had died but that the government would not release details until their next of kin had been notified.
Mr. Tuifagalele said that one elderly man on an island in the east of the country was killed when a roof collapsed on him. Mr. Bainimarama said a curfew would remain in place until Monday morning to allow emergency workers to clear roads of fallen power lines and building debris. Most of the buildings in Suva, the country’s capital on the island of Viti Levu, appeared to have only minor damage.
Raijeli Nicole, the Suva-based regional director of the Pacific for the aid group Oxfam, said that many Fijians in rural areas lived in simple structures. “There are fears the damage is likely to be significant right across Fiji,” Ms. Nicole said. A CARE Australia aid worker, Anna Cowley, said in a telephone interview from Suva that power outages had hampered aid efforts. “There is still a power blackout across the main island, Viti Levu, which has stopped water pumps from working,” Ms. Cowley said on Sunday, adding that patchy communications with outlying islands had made assessing the damage there difficult.
In a statement, CARE Australia said Cyclone Winston had also caused severe damage to houses and crops in Tonga, which lies to Fiji’s southeast.