BREAKING NEWS *****Cyclone hits Fiji, two dead *****

The AustralianJanuary 28, 2008 08:58pm AEDT

Cyclone hits Fiji, two dead



January 28, 2008



A TROPICAL cyclone with winds gusting up to 140 km/h has hit Fiji's main island of Viti Levu, killing two men, flattening houses and causing flooding.

The two men died when they were electrocuted by fallen powerlines, police said.

Cyclone Gene, a category one storm, crossed the west coast of Viti Levu and is forecast to intensify and move in a southeast direction overnight towards the capital Suva, officials said.

"The cyclone is expected to intensify further, probably reaching a category two system by late tomorrow,'' Rajendra Prasad, director of Fiji's bureau of meteorology, said.

Many Fijians living in coastal villages on the west side of Viti Levu, which is also the country's main tourist centre, have moved to higher ground, with warnings of heavy seas and swells.

Officials in the western town of Nadi warned residents not to be outside their homes as the cyclone moves through their area.

"People should start taking precautions, preparing with torches, tin foods and so on,'' director of the National Disaster Centre Jo Rokovada said.