Category 2

In a statement this afternoon, the National Disaster Management Office said a 49 year old man had drowned.

The NDMO also said there were five people missing including a three year boy from Lautoka who hasn't been seen since yesterday.

The other four were fishermen who had gone out earlier in the week as the storm developed, two from Cikobia, Vanua Levu and the others from near Suva.

The category two storm, packing gusts up to 140 kilometres an hour, made landfall on the main island of Viti Levu this morning and had been moving south-southwest towards Suva since.

The Fiji Meteorological Service's, Sakeasi Waibuta, said many parts of the country had already suffered from severe flooding with over 100 millimetres of rain overnight and the downpours continuing today.

A few hours ago Mona was situated about 300 kilometres northwest of Labasa.

The storm is packing winds of up to 130 km/hr as it moves south-southwest.

However tonight Mona is expected to turn and move east-southeast towards the Fiji islands of Vanua Levu and Viti Levu.

A tropical cyclone alert remains in force for most of Fiji with the far north island of Rotuma already being given the all-clear and the Yasawa and Mamanuca groups maintaining a gale warning.