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Cyclone Mick kills three in Fiji | Cyclone Mick kills three in Fiji |
(about 5 hours later) | |
At least three people have died and several others are missing after Cyclone Mick ripped through Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. | At least three people have died and several others are missing after Cyclone Mick ripped through Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. |
The cyclone has cut power to much of the country, forced thousands into shelters, and caused severe flooding in the South Pacific nation, police say. | The cyclone has cut power to much of the country, forced thousands into shelters, and caused severe flooding in the South Pacific nation, police say. |
Mick, the region's first cyclone of the summer, is now causing gale-force winds over Fiji's Lau group of islands. | Mick, the region's first cyclone of the summer, is now causing gale-force winds over Fiji's Lau group of islands. |
The cyclone is heading for Tonga, which has been placed on alert. | |
At its height on Monday night, Cyclone Mick battered Fiji with winds gusting up to 110km/h (70mph). | |
'Vicious' cyclone | |
Two people in Viti Levu were swept away in rivers, while a student died when a tree fell on him, police said. | |
The head of Fiji's Disaster Management Committee, Pajilai Dobui, said deaths and injuries had been kept low because most people had listened to warnings to move to emergency shelters. | |
Nearly 4,000 people evacuated their homes ahead of the storm. Most had returned home by late Tuesday. | |
"There's a lot of damage," said Unicef spokesman Tim Sutton from the Fijian capital Suva. | "There's a lot of damage," said Unicef spokesman Tim Sutton from the Fijian capital Suva. |
"Lots of trees down, power lines down everywhere, all the roads around Viti Levu are still closed with flooding and landslides," he told New Zealand's National Radio. | "Lots of trees down, power lines down everywhere, all the roads around Viti Levu are still closed with flooding and landslides," he told New Zealand's National Radio. |
He described Mick as a "very vicious" cyclone that struck the archipelago six hours earlier than expected. | |
Much of the country was without electricity early on Tuesday due to the downed power lines. | |
Flights to the international airport at the tourist hub of Nadi on the island's west coast were disrupted but returned to normal later on Tuesday as the storm passed. | |
Disaster management officials say the toll could rise when they make contact with small outer-lying islands. | Disaster management officials say the toll could rise when they make contact with small outer-lying islands. |
The storm has been downgraded to a category one cyclone as it heads south-east towards Tonga. | |
Fiji, an archipelago of more than 320 islands, was hit by tropical storms in January, which killed at least 10 people and caused the country's worst flooding in recent history. | Fiji, an archipelago of more than 320 islands, was hit by tropical storms in January, which killed at least 10 people and caused the country's worst flooding in recent history. |
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