Thousands evacuated as powerful cyclone hits Fiji

FIjI:A powerful cyclone battered Fiji’s northern islands Monday, damaging homes and crops as thousands of people fled to evacuation centres, officials said. Cyclone Tomas was classified as a category-four cyclone — the second-most destructive on a five-point scale — and was packing winds averaging up to 175 kilometres (109 miles) an hour, the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) said.

There were no early reports of casualties, although reports said one woman drowned over the weekend in stormy seas.

The cyclone was expected to intensify later Monday and into early Tuesday, with average wind speeds rising to 200 kilometres an hour, and gusts of up to 270 kilometres an hour.

Suva, Monday, AFP