Suva : Tourists began fleeing cyclone-ravaged Fiji today and aid efforts intensified as the death toll climbed to 20, with officials warning it could rise further as reports trickle in from devastated remote communities, reports AFP. Aerial photographs revealed entire villages were flattened when severe tropical cyclone Winston struck overnight Saturday, lashing the Pacific island nation with gusts of 325 kilometres per hour.
“The images emerging from early aerial assessments of affected areas are truly heartbreaking, leaving little doubt about the ferocity of this cyclone,” said the UN’s Fiji coordinator Osnat Lubrani. “It is clear from these catastrophic impacts that Fiji is facing a long road to recovery.” Winston, the strongest cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, razed scores of homes, crippled infrastructure and forced terrified residents to shelter in evacuation centres.
