Suva: A powerful cyclone battered Fiji's northern islands on Monday, damaging homes and crops and forcing thousands of people to flee to evacuation centres, officials said.
Cyclone Tomas was classified as a category-four cyclone, the second-most destructive on a five-point scale and packed winds averaging up to 175 kilometres an hour, the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) said.
There were no early reports of casualties, although officials confirmed a woman drowned over the weekend in stormy seas as the cyclone approached.
The cyclone was reported to be generating waves up to 7.2 metres (24 feet) high and ships and boats were warned away from the area.
It was expected to intensify later today and into early Tuesday, with average wind speeds rising to 200 kilometres an hour, and gusts of up to 270 kilometres an hour.
The head of Fiji's Disaster Management Office, Pajiliai Dobui, said about 5,000 people had moved into evacuation centres in the north of the country, especially on the second-largest island, Vanua Levu.
The eye of Cyclone Tomas was expected to pass east of Vanua Levu and the largest island Viti Levu, although many smaller islands would be close to its path.
PTI
First Published: Monday, March 15, 2010, 15:17