For Evan's sake, Fiji braces as hell unleashed

THE worst cyclone to strike Fiji in 20 years unleashed 200km/h winds that lifted the roofs off buildings, flattened homes and stranded thousands.

Cyclone Evan

THE worst cyclone to strike Fiji in 20 years unleashed 200km/h winds that lifted the roofs off buildings, flattened homes and stranded thousands of Australian holidaymakers when the country's main airport was shut down.

The fury of category-4 cyclone Evan turned Fiji's second-largest city, Lautoka, into a "war zone" and invoked fears that the death toll would rise above the four confirmed to have died in Samoa at the weekend when the storm began its rampage through the southwest Pacific.

Battened down in their brick retreat on the resort island of Namotu, three stay-put Australians could do no more than hope for the best as the eye of the cyclone passed over them.

"It's like standing on the wing of a jet plane," 27-year-old Leon Edwards told The Australian by phone, struggling to be heard above the howling wind.

"Every tree has been stripped bare, there's coconuts flying everywhere.

"It's unbelievable."

Mr Edwards, from Margaret River in Western Australia, Sydney lifeguard Kevin Rhodes and Namotu resort owner Scott O'Connor opted to ride it out when the world-renowned surfing destination off Fiji's main island of Viti Levu was evacuated, along with many other holiday spots.

After wreaking death and destruction last weekend on Samoa, where the toll is expected to rise, the cyclone intensified on approach to Fiji. The Department of Foreign Affairs said about 2100 Australians had notified it that they were travelling to Fiji, but many more could have gone without registering.

There is also a sizable expatriate Australian community.

The Australian Defence Force is keeping close tabs on the situation, but it is understood that for now any response, including evacuations and relief provision, would be led by the New Zealand military.

At Lautoka, population about 60,000, homes and buildings were unroofed and the streets littered by downed trees and powerlines.

Resident Janet Mason told Radio New Zealand that an empty house had "flown through the air" and landed beside hers.

Schools that had been pressed into service as emergency shelters were packed, while stranded holidaymakers made do with floorspace at Nadi international airport after flights were suspended.

Packing winds exceeding 200km/h and spanning more than 480km, the storm is the most savage to hit Fiji since 1993.

Reinforcing the sense of emergency, the country's leader, Frank Bainimarama, warned that "every Fijian" would be affected.

"I cannot stress how serious this is . . . we must take preventative steps now," Commodore Bainimarama said, as the country braced for Evan's onslaught.

The cyclone made a direct hit on Nomatu about 4pm AEDT in the outlying Mamanuca group of islands, and then slammed into the palm and coconut tree-fringed west coast of Viti Levu. During the eerie respite of the eye, the three Australians on Nomatu cautiously took stock. "Long night ahead but took the puppies for a walk, which is important . . . Reckon we had at least 250kph out here," Mr O'Connor said in a hurried post on his Facebook page.

They had bunkered down in Mr O'Connor's double-bricked quarters, the strongest structure on the island. Mr Edwards, the resort's chef, said their biggest concern was with the cyclone generating a storm surge. "If we get a surge, it will wash across the whole island . . . it only takes three minutes to walk around. We'd be completely gone," he said.

Asked whether he was worried, he said: "Yeah, I am. I have called my family this afternoon. The boss said make sure you get in touch with the people you want to get in touch with . . . they're freaking out at home but I think we should be OK."

Describing the fury of the cyclone, Mr Rhodes, of Narrabeen, in Sydney, said: "It's howling outside. It's all pretty crazy. If you go outside, you need a helmet because of the stuff that's flying around."

Brisbane holiday-maker Erica Grey and her husband, John, sheltered on Danarau Island in the ballroom of the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa with the other 300 guests, about 70 per cent of whom were Australian. "They say the winds outside are 200 km/h," she said. "Lots of trees have come down and the management are outside all the time to make sure everything is secure. We're not allowed to go outside for safety."

At the Shangri-La Fijian Resort and Spa, general manager Michael Monks said guests - about 85 per cent of whom were Australian - were confined to their rooms to ride out the storm.

"We're battening down the hatches," he said.

Fiji government spokeswoman Sharon Smith-Johns said 3500 people were sheltering in evacuation centres after people had been primed to prepare for the worst.

She said the lack of early casualties was encouraging but there could be no complacency, such was the danger.

"We've had a week to prepare for this, so we're as prepared as you can be," Ms Smith-Johns told RNZ.

"The extent of the damage I don't think we're going to know until tomorrow morning when we wake up and see how badly it has hit."

As of this morning, the cyclone was tracking away from Fiji in a south-southwest direction.

Strong wind and heavy swell warnings remain in place, but flights to and from Fiji are expected to resume later on today.

Meanwhile, the search continues for 10 fishermen missing from four boats off Samoa.

A New Zealand Air Force Orion searching for the fishermen found an upturned fishing boat hull overnight and it was being towed to Apia by Samoan police.

Four people have already died in Samoa, and damage to the island of Upolu appeared to be worse than from a 2009 earthquake and tsunami that killed 135 people, according to aerial surveillance.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Australia had offered assistance to both Samoa and Fiji.