Fiji's National Disaster Management Office said tow-thirds of Fiji's population of 900,000 is in the cyclone's path. The first tropical cyclone of the season in the Southwest Pacific has formed between Vanuatu and Fiji. Though agencies and non-government organisations are preparing for major relief efforts once Cyclone Yasa passes, organisations are urging people not to send goods to Fiji in the aftermath of the storm. Photograph: Fiji Roads Authority/Reuters “Our teams report that houses and community buildings have been destroyed and crops flattened. Akshay Kumar, co-owner of the Grillenium Authentic Food House, said Winston was bad and he was expecting another strong storm. AILEEN TORRES-BENNETT and NICK PERRY Associated Press, Akshay Kumar, co-owner of the Grillenium Authentic Food House, tests out delivery service in the preparation for cyclone Yasa in the Samabula neighborhood of Suva, Fiji Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. "We're just wondering what is going to happen with COVID and people losing their jobs and the destruction this cyclone will bring to Fiji.". Radar image of Tropical Cyclone Yasa at 02:30Z December 17, 2020, (9:30 p.m. EST December 16), approximately four hours before it made landfall on Fiji’s Vanua Levu Island. Authorities imposed an overnight curfew and declared a state of natural disaster. The Fiji Meteorological Service said Cyclone Yasa had intensified to top-of-the scale Category Five storm the winds are expected to gust upto 280 kilometres per hour (174 miles per hour). Ilisapeci Rokotunidau, director of Fiji's Red Cross, said her organisation had more than five hundred volunteers on the ground trained to help those fleeing the Cyclone. Tropical Cyclone Yasa struck the low-lying Pacific island nation of Fiji on Thursday evening local time, as one of the strongest storms to hit there. Every one of us must treat these climate-fuelled catastrophes with deadly seriousness.". Fiji scrambles to provide aid as cyclone toll rises Issued on: 19/12/2020 - 08:22 Cyclone Yasa hit Fiji on Thursday, leaving thousands unable to return home and killing four Leon LORD AFP/File Fiji was hit by by tropical cyclone Sarai in Viseisei in December 2019. Hundreds of Fijians are expected to spend the night sheltered in evacuation centres. Use our interactive to look through satellite photos that captured the destruction of Cyclone Winston in Fiji. The Pacific is being belted by two tropical cyclones - … HMAS Adelaide will leave Brisbane on Thursday as the federal government … “The dust is yet to settle,” Bainimarama said. Sharon Bhagwan Rolls from the advocacy group Shifting the Power Coalition said women, children and people with disabilities would be particularly vulnerable. The … Yasa, one of the strongest cyclones recorded in the Pacific, made landfall on the northern island of Vanua Leva on Thursday evening, killing at least two people and destroying scores of homes. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Authorities imposed an overnight curfew and declared a state of natural disaster. A powerful "super storm" has hit the Pacific Island nation of Fiji this evening, bringing with it destructive hurricane-force winds, flooding and massive waves. Story by Michael Carlowicz. It is urging residents to stock up on food and water, board up windows and move to higher ground if safe to do so. Source: Zoom Earth. Cyclone Yasa was expected to hit the two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu later Thursday or early Friday. Cyclone Yasa: Monster storm now cat 5, set to strike Fiji in coming 24 hours 15 Dec, 2020 10:37 PM 3 minutes to read MetService National weather: December 15th - 17th. EMAIL. SUVA, Fiji (AP) — A powerful cyclone hit Fiji overnight, killing at least two people and destroying dozens of homes in the Pacific island nation, authorities said Friday. (Tropical Cyclone Harold hit Vanuatu in April.) A powerful cyclone hit Fiji overnight, killing at least two people and destroying dozens of homes in the Pacific island nation, authorities said on Friday. More than 1,000 evacuation centres have been prepared across Fiji's two main islands, and the Government has declared a "State of Natural Disaster" for the next 30 days to respond to the crisis. Fiji is hit by cyclone. SHARE. The cyclone tore across the northern island of Vanua Levu on Thursday night as a category five, destroying entire villages and leaving thousands homeless. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. The impact on Fiji's Vanua Levu Island is likely to be devastating, but major populated areas spared of direct hit. Fiji imposed a nationwide curfew Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020 after urging people near the coast to move to higher ground as the island nation prepared for a major cyclone to hit. A year later, women's football was banned, Three COVID-19 cases have now spread to Sydney's CBD from the northern beaches. Here is #CycloneYasa, a category 1 tropical … Will you cap off the week with a win in our Friday news quiz? Fiji was urging people near the coast to move to higher ground Thursday ahead of a nationwide curfew as the island nation prepared for a major cyclone to hit. The cyclone is set to hit Fiji on Thursday evening or Friday morning. "So we have to keep in mind that not many households may be able to prepare.". "People are not roaming around. "We're a bit apprehensive after 2016, Cyclone Winston, and the destruction it brought," he said. They’re prepping for the cyclone.”. Here is #CycloneYasa, a category 1 tropical cyclone. Cyclone Yasa was expected to hit the two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu later Thursday or early Friday. Earlier today, a second tropical cyclone, Zazu, was identified in the South Pacific. "The power is off. People repair a house in the preparation for cyclone Yasa in the Tamavua neighborhood of Suva, Fiji, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. Fiji Meteorological Service Just after Christmas, Tropical Cyclone Sarai left two people dead and more than 2,500 needing emergency shelter as it damaged houses, crops and trees and cut electricity … "The storm might turn around and hit us like Winston.”. Authorities in Fiji have distributed 10,000 food packs to people affected by Cyclone Yasa, as the aid effort in the country's north gets underway. The island was hit in 2016 by Cyclone Winston, and many still remember the storm that killed over 40 residents. 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