Fiji warned residents to brace for an onslaught yesterday as a category five super-storm bears down on the Pacific island nation, with international flights cancelled and evacuation centres activated, reports AFP.
”As a nation, we are facing an ordeal of the most grievous kind,” Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said in a national address.
”We must stick together as a people and look after each other. Be alert and be prepared.”
Severe tropical cylone Winston, with average winds of 220 kilometres (136 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 315 kilometres per hour, was forecast to hit the main island Viti Levu overnight Saturday, according to the Fiji meteorological office.
The storm brushed by the more northerly island of Vanua Levu yesterday afternoon, with unconfirmed reports of trees felled and roofs blown off  houses. ”I’ve never seen such a strong cyclone as this one in 60 years,” local resident Zalim Hussein told AFP by phone.