Australia is sending a relief ship to Fiji to assist in the recovery effort after Cyclone Winston, the worst-ever recorded in the southern hemisphere, tore through the island nation on Saturday last week, as the sheer scale of the disaster becomes clearer.
The death toll from the Category 5 storm remains at 42, according to a statement from the Fijian National Disaster Management Office, although that figure is expected to rise.
Many communities remain without water and it could be weeks before electricity is restored, the statement said.
Photo: EPA
The scale of damage and loss is becoming apparent to authorities and aid organizations as communications are being gradually restored throughout the archipelago.
UNICEF spokeswoman Alice Clements said her organization now estimates that more than 62,000 Fijians are homeless and living in evacuation shelters.
“People are very resilient here and have got a solution to every problem, but there are just so many people who do not have any options,” Clements said.
Australian military vessel HMAS Canberra left on Friday and is expected to arrive in Fijian waters early next week.
It is carrying three helicopters and 60 tonnes of supplies, including water purification equipment and medical supplies.
The ship’s departure came as the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Twitter that the first helicopter load of Australian aid had reached the hard-hit remote island of Koro yesterday.
Asian Development Bank South Pacific director Rob Jauncey told Radio New Zealand that Fiji’s economy would face losses of “tens of millions of [US] dollars” because of the destruction of sugar crops and an expected drop in tourism.
The effects of Cyclone Winston were being felt on the eastern coast of Australia, more than 2,600km southwest of Fiji, yesterday.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued dangerous surf warnings and authorities closed many beaches in the states of Queensland and New South Wales as swells of up to 6m generated by Cyclone Winston battered the coast.
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