Family endures an anxious wait on Cyclone news

A GYMPIE family is watching and waiting to hear if Fijian relatives are safe after the tiny Pacific island nation was pummelled by Category 5 Tropical Cyclone.

A GYMPIE family is watching and waiting to hear if Fijian relatives are safe after the tiny Pacific island nation was pummelled by Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston on the weekend.

Lisa Steller, her husband Manasa Drodrolagi and sons Connor and Jesse are positive despite not yet hearing from their family members.

Winston hit Fiji with force on Saturday, producing winds of more than 300kmh and whipping up 12m waves.

The confirmed death toll has reached 10 and aerial photos released by the Fijian government show massive swathes of land flattened beyond recognition.

Here in Queensland, the flow-on effects in the form of large swell has prompted the Bureau of Meteorology to issue a warning for deceptively powerful surf conditions which could force the closure of some beaches on the Cooloola and Sunshine Coast today.

Lisa said she was in contact with relatives on social media right up until Saturday, when the Fijian population responded to warnings and evacuated to 750 evacuation centres.

Since the cyclone's passing, the loss of infrastructure and services, including power, has left Fijians unable to charge their phones, severing connections with the outside world.

The Gympie family's relatives are on the western coast of Fiji, which largely avoided the cyclone's full record-breaking impact.

"The west was not hit as hard but we haven't heard from them yet," Lisa said.

"There's been no bad news at this stage so no news is good news.

"It's an eerie horrible feeling but we are just sticking to a routine and checking the phone constantly," Lisa said.

Lisa said the Fijian people were resilient and would "bounce back" after the natural disaster.

"Family and friendship is so important in Fiji and they will help each other re-build."

Lisa and her husband have experienced cyclones in Fiji before, but the strength of this storm was unnerving.

"Relatives who normally don't worry about these things were scared this time," she said.

Lisa still owns property in Fiji, which has been home on and off for more than 20 years. That property features large trees but Lisa did not yet know how it had faired.

The Gympie mother also recalled her husband's experience of cyclone Oscar in 1983. He was nine at the time and watched 10 men battle to hold a boarded door shut for 45 minutes due to the air pressure.