New Delhi, Feb 24: The number of people killed in the cyclone that hit Fiji at the weekend has risen to 29, with officials warning the clear-up could take months.
About 8,500 people are still sheltering in evacuation centres.
Cyclone Winston has flattened many buildings in parts of the main Viti Levu island and Koro islands, Fijian officials said.
The category five storm brought winds of over 320 km/h (200mph), torrential rain and waves of up to 12m (40ft). It has been described by the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation as the worst to ever hit the country.
Government spokesman Ewan Perrin told Radio New Zealand that the houses of 2,000 families who lived on Koro island had been “pretty much flattened”.
Eight bodies were found there on Monday.
Rescue workers warned that the death toll could rise further as some of the worst-hit outlying islands have yet to be reached.
“We’re still trying to get people on the ground in these areas,” Perrin was quoted as saying.
“In some places people are going to be displaced for months because they’ve lost everything,” he added.
The New Zealand Air Force has helped Fijian rescuers carry out aerial inspections across almost all the islands, Perrin said.
