Death toll from Fiji cyclone mounts amid health crisis fears

Fiji began a massive cleanup on Feb. 22 after one of the most powerful storms recorded in the southern hemisphere tore through the Pacific island nation, killing 21 people, flattening remote villages and cutting off communications.

Aid agencies warned of a widespread health crisis, particularly in low-lying areas where thousands of Fiji's 900,000 people live in tin shacks, after crops were wiped out and fresh water supplies blocked. 

The Fiji Broadcasting Corp, quoting the country's National Disaster Management Office, said 21 people had died and four were still missing at sea. 

Almost 8,000 people remained hunkered down in hundreds of evacuation centres across Fiji where they had headed before  tropical cyclone Winston hit late on Saturday with winds of up to 325 kph (200 mph). 

"The death toll from Cyclone Winston continues to rise and reports of widespread damage are coming in from across Fiji," said New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully. "It is clear that Fiji faces a major cleanup and recovery operation." 

McCully said a New Zealand Defence Force C-130 would leave for the Fijian capital, Suva, later on Monday with relief supplies and an emergency response team. 

The majority of the fatalities were along the western coast and were caused mainly by flying debris and drowning in storm surges, authorities said. 

A 36-hour curfew was lifted early on Feb. 22, allowing the Fijian military to ramp up efforts to reach the more remote parts of the archipelago of about 300 islands. 

"The Fijians are desperately trying to repair severed lines of communication, but they hold grave fears that the news waiting for them will be dire," said Raijeli Nicole, Pacific regional director of aid group Oxfam. ...