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Cyclone Tomas in Fiji

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Mon, 2010-03-15 03:45 — Liliana Santirso

Emergency morgues set up in Fiji (Source: ONE News)

Residents in southern Fiji are stocking up on groceries and boarding up their homes in preparation for the brunt of Cyclone Tomas, as reports come through of a death.

A woman drowned after battling to save others in massive waves pounding a beach off Fiji's Vanua Levu.

Fiji's Disaster Management Centre has confirmed it is setting up emergency morgues around the country as they prepare to be battered by the cyclone. There have been unconfirmed reports of fatalities and injuries.

The cyclone has been upgraded to a category four storm with 170kmh winds expected.

It has already destroyed homes and caused significant damage to water and power supplies in parts of northern Fiji. Swells of eight metres have also been reported.

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/emergency-morgues-set-up-in-fiji-3415426

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Mon, 2010-03-15 04:12 — Liliana Santirso

Tomas, a category four storm and bigger than Hurricane Katrina which destroyed New Orleans, is now in Fiji waters and has so far claimed one life.
Ului, which has scored a record speed of intensity and is a category five, has brushed the southern Solomon Islands and is heading toward Australia but is expected to remain off the coast of the continent for at least the next few days.
Fiji Director of Meteorology Rajendra Prasad said that people should take extra precautions and move to evacuation centers if necessary, FijiLive reported.
With winds already at up to 166kmh, Tomas may increase its intensity, Prasad said.
A spokeswoman for Fiji police, Ema Mua, told AAP the nation was undertaking last minute preparations for a "disastrous'' thrashing.
"We were looking at the difference between the forces of all the cyclones that have happened in Fiji,'' said Mua, as her colleagues hammered boards to windows.
New Zealanders in Fiji are being urged by the Government to register with the High Commission in Suva as the devastating Cyclone Tomas hits the islands.
The storm had intensified a little more from this morning, with estimated average winds of 175kmh and momentary gusts up to 230kmh close to the centre, Fiji Times reported.
Five thousand people have been already been billeted at 90 evacuation centres in Fiji's Northern division, where the cyclone had been situated for most of Monday, according to latest figures from the Commissioner Northern Lt Colonel Inia Seruiratu.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-pacific/3448458/South-Pacific-hit-by-cyclones

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