Tag: Super-cyclone Winston

Aid finally getting to Fiji cyclone victims

SUVA, Fiji (AFP) — Humanitarian aid was finally reaching isolated communities in Fiji devastated by super-cyclone Winston, officials said Friday, with the government estimating the damage bill will top hundreds of millions of dollars. At least 44 people died when the most powerful storm in Fiji’s history hit on Saturday and the UN says about 50,000 — more than five percent of the entire population — have been left homeless. Some of the worst-affected villages were on […]

Fiji cyclone death toll rises to 42: official

SUVA, Fiji (AFP) — The death toll from the Fiji super-cyclone hit 42 on Wednesday, officials said, with fears it will rise further as relief teams reach isolated communities. “42 Fijians now confirmed dead — disaster officials continue to deploy team to help those affected across Fiji,” government spokesman Dan Gavidi tweeted. The acting head of the Red Cross’s Pacific office Ahmad Sami said more fatalities were coming to light as data came in from remote communities. […]

Remote Fijian areas still cut off days after super cyclone

  RAKIRAKI and SUVA, Fiji (Reuters) — Fijian authorities were still trying to reach remote areas of the archipelago on Tuesday (February 23) to assess the scale of damage after a powerful cyclone tore through the Pacific island nation, killing at least 29 people. There are fears the death toll could rise in the nation of 900,000 people when communication resumes with the smaller islands where thousands of people live in tin or wooden shacks […]

Cyclone death toll hits 29 as Fiji eyes long clean-up

SUVA, Fiji (AFP) — Humanitarian aid began pouring into Fiji Tuesday, as the death toll from super-cyclone Winston rose to 29 and officials warned the devastated Pacific nation’s recovery could take months. With authorities still struggling to grasp the scale of the disaster on remote island communities, Australian and New Zealand planes arrived laden with desperately needed supplies of food, water and medicine. Government spokesman Ewan Perrin said the news was grim from villages which […]