18 Dec 2020

Cyclone Yasa flattens houses in Fiji

From Morning Report, 7:09 am on 18 December 2020

Houses have been flattened, and people left in only the clothes they're wearing as Cyclone Yasa swept into the island of Vanua Levu yesterday evening, with winds gusting as high as 350km/h.

Authorities in Fiji are waiting for daylight to assess the extent of the damage caused by the category five cyclone.

More than 1,400 people spent the night in evacuation centres, and there are already reports of widespread flooding and buildings flattened.

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said Yasa could quite easilty surpass the devastation wrought by Cyclone Winston in 2016.

Correspondent Lice Movono speaks to Susie Ferguson from the capital, Suva.