Fiji

The chairman of the Ba Mission Hospital has confirmed two people died in the town, and two others are in a serious but stable condition.

Fiji media have reported that Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has announced the new death toll.

The category five cyclone has been described as the strongest storm ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere.

Homes have been destroyed, power lines are down and trees are blocking roads in many areas after tropical Cyclone Winston swept through the islands with wind gusts of up to 325kmh.

One person is reported so far to have died in the storm - an elderly man who was hit by flying debris - while hundreds have fled to evacuation centres. A curfew remains in force as the authorities go about assessing the damage.

'There's not one house that has not been damaged'

Disaster officials told a local broadcaster that an elderly man on Koro Island died after a roof fell on him.

Two hundred millimetres of rain was due to fall in some areas which could have triggered landslides. Flood warnings were issued for low-lying areas, with tidal surges possible.

Cyclone Winston ravaged the country overnight, but was now slowly moving away and leaving the country to assess the damage as daylight breaks.

The country had spent much of Saturday in lockdown, with transport cancelled and nationwide curfew and state of emergency declared by the government.

Already there are initial reports of severe damage across the country, with reports of houses being flattened and heavy swells washing away sea walls.

Unconfirmed reports suggest one person died when they were struck by falling debris on Koro island, according to local media, but a police spokesperson was unable to confirm reports.

Tropical Cyclone Winston has begun its assault on Fiji. It is being described as one of the most powerful in recorded history - a Category 5 cyclone with winds approaching 300 kilometres an hour. As a nation, we are facing an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We must stick together as a people and look after each other. Be alert and be prepared.

This means that it has average winds of up to 205 kilometres per hour to 285 kilometres per hour.

The Nadi Weather Office says the eye of the cyclone was located 130 kilometres North-Northeast of Lakeba in the Lau Group at 7am today.

Fijivillage has received confirmation that Cyclone Winston is currently passing over Vanuabalavu.

Parshin, who heads the ministry’s Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU), took part in a ceremony in the republic’s capital Suva on Tuesday to hand over a batch of Russian small arms and munitions for Fiji’s peacekeepers.

The official dismissed recent media reports that Russia’s seeks to expand military presence in the Asia-Pacific region and Moscow’s s next step could be searching for a submarine fleet support base in the southern Pacific Ocean.

Fish kills can occur as a result of a number of factors, ranging from a release of toxic chemicals to low concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the water.

For now, the Pacific Community (SPC) is reinforcing government warnings and urging people in affected areas to refrain from consuming the dead fish which may be harmful to human health.

Reporters from Fijivillage spoke to the Turaga Ni Koro, Filipe Colati, on Ono-i-Lau, who said they experienced strong and devastating winds late last night.

He said the winds were stronger than Cyclone Ula and that five houses have been destroyed in Dakuni village.

Mr Colati said there was also extreme damage to vegetation.