-
Flooding in Fiji following Cyclone Mick - Source: ONE News -
Watch Video
-
Related
At least five people are thought to have died after Cyclone Mick swept across Fiji on Monday.
The Pacific island nation was on Tuesday counting the cost of its first cyclone this summer which left thousands of people homeless.
A 19-year-old boy from Ra is still missing after he was swept away by strong currents while trying to cross a flooded river, the FijiLive news website reported.
Police spokesman Atunaisa Sokomuri says they have also yet to recover the body of a 23-year-old man from Keiyasi in Sigatoka who tried to cross the flooding Sigatoka River on Monday.
"People should be very careful and should adhere to warnings and not to try and cross flooded rivers," he warned.
A student from Drala village in Nadarivatu, in the Viti Levu highlands, has been confirmed dead after being struck by a huge tree.
Two fishermen who went out despite the cyclone warning are still missing near Lautoka.
The category 2 cyclone ripped through the most populated island Viti Levu on Monday night and is now headed towards Tonga, which is on alert.
Fiji's National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) has set up temporary shelters for the homeless.
Suva-based Tim Sutton, of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), says Mick is a "very vicious" cyclone which moved quickly and struck up to six hours earlier than expected, catching many people unprepared.
Sutton says Fiji's disaster management teams are very well organised but the early arrival of the storm means many people had not evacuated in time.
Save the Children New Zealand staff in Fiji are assessing the damage in order to the work out what is needed.
"Suva is still without power and water although that has been
gradually coming back in parts of the city throughout the day.
Trees are down, roads are blocked and homes have been damaged," the
organisation's
Joanna Matthew says from Suva.
Flooding in the delta region is a major concern and so far, the organisation has not been able to access that area to assess the impact, she says.
ONE News reporter Toni Street and her husband were on a ferry as the cyclone struck.
"There were families that were literally bawling their eyes because they thought that was it, four metre swells we were coming crashing down and the whole boat was shaking and you know it didn't seem to subside for a good two hours," she says.
They were relieved to make port even if they and their luggage were totally drenched.
