Asia-Pacific News
Fiji braces for Cyclone Tomas
Mar 14, 2010, 21:48 GMT
Wellington - The Pacific island state of Fiji was battened down early Monday as Cyclone Tomas approached amid forecasts it would bring torrential rains and winds topping 200 kilometres an hour.
Authorities imposed a nationwide curfew at midnight local time and urged people to go to evacuation centres before the cyclone struck, according to reports from the capital Suva.
With the category-four cyclone still 395 kilometres north-east of Suva at 9 am, the curfew was lifted to enable people to stock up supplies, Radio New Zealand reported.
Schools were ordered closed for the day and civil servants told to stay at home.
Matt Boterhoven at the Nadi Weather Centre told Radio New Zealand that the eye of the storm would pass over the eastern edge of Fiji's second biggest island, bringing heavy rain and damaging sea swells likely to cause flooding in low-lying areas.
A 31-year-old woman became the first victim of the cyclone Sunday when huge waves swept her out to sea just metres from a beach on Vanua Levu, the Fijilive news website reported.
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