Fijian villages feel Winston's fury

Government officials on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu, are briefing politicicans on the damage done by Cyclone Winston, amid fears that homes in entire villages may have been destroyed.

Disaster officials told a local broadcaster that an elderly man on Koro Island died after a roof fell on him.

Two hundred millimetres of rain was due to fall in some areas which could have triggered landslides. Flood warnings were issued for low-lying areas, with tidal surges possible.

Cyclone Winston ravaged the country overnight, but was now slowly moving away and leaving the country to assess the damage as daylight breaks.

There were reports of villages where roads had been washed out, and many houses had their roofs blown away, with hundreds of people evacuated.

Large parts of Fiji were without power.

People have been told to stay indoors until power lines and fallen trees were cleared.

The authorities were preparing to send out rapid assessment teams, and aid agencies said they were ready to respond.

What to expect next

Fiji Meteorology Office forecaster Amit Singh told Fijian radio the system was moving west at about 25km per hour and was expected to move in that direction for the next 12 to 18 hours before it took a turn to the south east.

He said the worst was over for Fiji with winds having eased in most places.

MetService New Zealand said the category five storm had swept past the capital, Suva, around midnight, and brought sustained winds to the North Eastern part of Viti Levu.

The cyclone is now just west of Viti Levu, and the winds had eased in the capital.

How it unfolded

The category five Cyclone Winston made landfall of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu, late on Saturday night hitting the country with winds as high as 325km/h.

Fiji's Meteorological Service said it first touched a district of close to 30,000 people on the northern coast.

The country had spent much of Saturday in lockdown, with transport cancelled and a nationwide curfew and state of emergency declared by the government.

There were initial reports of severe damage across the country, including some of houses being flattened and heavy swells washing away sea walls.

Meteorological Service director Ravind Kumar said the cyclone would come within 20km of Nadi, near the country's main international airport and tourist areas, about 6am on Sunday.

"The scenario is not good," said Mr Kumar in a phone interview. "It is a category five system, it is very compact, and it has got very destructive hurricane force winds."

Over the island of Vanuabalavu we recorded winds gusting to 145 knots (268km/h), so you can imagine the destruction that it may leave behind," he said.

Winston struck Viti Levu after passing across Fiji's eastern Lau group of islands. Authorities said contact with the scattered group had been lost and it was unclear what the extent of the damage was.

Late on Saturday night, there were reports of widespread blackouts and communications outages across the country, particularly in the north and east.

Curfew and State of Emergency

Fiji had spent many days bracing itself for impact of the cyclone.

The country went into a curfew at 6 o'clock on Saturday evening, with only essential services permitted to travel.

The government also declared a 30-day nationwide state of emergency in anticipation of widespread destruction, by what was predicted to be one of the most destructive cyclones to ever hit the country of close to one million people.

"As a nation, we are facing an ordeal of the most grievous kind," said Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said in a statement urging people to heed authorities' warnings.

"Some people in urban areas of the country in particular do not appear to have heeded the warnings about the seriousness of the threat we all face," he said.

More than 700 evacuation centres had been activated throughout Fiji, and disaster authorities urged people in low-lying and exposed areas to evacuate before the cyclone set in.

Public transport and flights were cancelled, and the Fiji Roads Authority urged people to avoid driving on the roads unless absolutely necessary.

Many markets and businesses were ordered to close by the government, and people in the northern towns of Labasa and Savusavu were called on to evacuate.

First reports

A resident in Savusavu on Vanua Levu, Sharon Wild, said the cyclone was starting to strike the island with incredible ferocity.

Ms Wild said it was the strongest she had ever experienced, and her family had taken to sheltering in the bathroom.

"It's crazy outside, you can't imagine," she said in a phone interview, her voice trembling.

"The coconut trees are swaying right over, I can't even see the island outside. I have no idea how my house is - if I still have a roof on my house. We have the sliding glass doors that are just shaking and they look like they're going to explode, so actually we're all sitting in the bathroom - we're all in the bath."

Both the government and aid agencies said Fiji was prepared for the arrival of cyclone Winston and had stockpiles of relief supplies.

Alice Clements, a spokesperson for Unicef in Fiji, said authorities and agencies had been preparing for Winston's arrival for days.

"The government's been taking it very seriously and it's been doing a great job of reaching out to communities, making sure everyone's aware of where the evacuation centres are, providing constant updates through the weather service and through television, radio and online announcements," Ms Clements said.

"We have supplies that are propositioned here in Fiji ready to go if requested by the government."

The full ferocity of the strongest cyclone ever recorded in the South Pacific was expected to set in as darkness fell on Fiji, and what scene would emerge on Sunday was unclear.

"Tropical cyclone Winston has begun its assault on Fiji," said Mr Bainimarama. "Let us all pray for our nation, ourselves and each other."