WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Fijians were finally able to venture outside Monday after authorities lifted a curfew but much of the country remained without electricity in the wake of a ferocious cyclone that left at least six people dead and destroyed hundreds of homes.
Officials were scrambling to restore services and assess damage in remote parts of the Pacific Island chain.
Winds from Cyclone Winston, which tore through Fiji over the weekend, reached 177 miles per hour, making it the strongest storm in the Southern Hemisphere since record-keeping began, according to the Weather Underground website.
The government imposed the curfew on Saturday night and lifted it at 5:30 a.m. Monday. A 30-day declaration of a state of natural disaster remains in effect and empowers police to make arrests without warrants. In a televised address to the nation on 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.”
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.
Fiji is being hit by one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded in the southern hemisphere. #7News
https://t.co/audPvPHw0F— 7NEWS Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) February 20, 2016
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.
“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.”