This
is huge for this part of the world. I will be keeping an eye on this
and bringing you up-to-date
Cyclone
Evan strikes Fiji: 'This is as serious as it gets'
Prime
Minister John Key has pledged New Zealand's support for Fiji as a
tropical cyclone batters the Pacific country.
17
December, 10.16 am NZT, 2012
Thousands
of Fijians and up to 400 Kiwis are hunkering down in evacuation
centres as Tropical Cyclone Evan sweeps near the Pacific Island
nation.
WeatherWatch.co.nz
said the centre of Evan had reached the northern island of Vanua
Levu.
Head
weather analyst Philip Duncan said the powerful cyclone was just
offshore but that meant the worst of the winds - which wrap around
the centre - were roaring across populated places.
"This
deadly tropical cyclone will be catastrophic for some communities and
low lying islands. This is about as serious as it gets".
Key
told TVNZ's Breakfast this morning that the Government was waiting to
see what help was needed.
"Fiji,
obviously we're bracing ourselves. But look, in the end New Zealand
will need to give support. That support will come in a number of
forms, I suspect money actually in parts, but in a number of areas."
Mr
Key said a visit from Foreign Minister Murray McCully was a
possibility.
In
Samoa, where the damage was "a bit mixed", an Air Force P3
Orion was helping to undertake an aerial survey.
"There's
some hope it might not be as bad as they originally thought, but then
there's damage to other parts of the island that they didn't think
had sustained damage," Mr Key said.
Fiji
said it had mobilised emergency response teams, 300 disaster relief
centres and the police and military.
It
feared Evan could be as devastating as Cyclone Kina, which killed 23
people and left thousands homeless in 1993.
Low-lying
areas were expected to be flooded, with storm surges threatening to
completely cover some islands.
Tourists
in Fiji's western outer islands, the Yasawas and Mamanucas, had moved
to the main island of Viti Levu or returned home early.
Evacuation
centres were last night activated in the Fijian province of Bua, on
the west of Vanua Levu, the Fiji Times reported.
There
were no reports of flooding last night but people were moving in to
the centres in Nabouwalu and Nawaca villages for safety.
Strong
winds were reported last night in Labasa and Savusavu, where one
resident reported blackouts.
Yesterday
a group of 10 students from Christchurch's Middleton Grange High
School joined others camped out at Nadi International Airport.
Three
were able to secure a flight home but the rest of the group were
forced to check into a hotel to wait out the storm.
Linda
Vanderpyl, whose daughter Lucy is part of the group still in Fiji,
said she hadn't spoken to her daughter but understood they were in
good spirits.
"They
were on Bounty Island for a night, they took them off there ... I
think they should be fine. I was pleased when they got off the
smaller island.
"If
it's as big as they say, it could be quite devastating ... the three
[students] that took off are the most nervous of them, so they've got
them safely home.''
Evan
was likely to reach New Zealand by the weekend, Professor Jim
Salinger, climate scientist and visiting professor at Stanford
University, told Science Media Centre.
"By
1am on Sunday 23 December the American GFS weather forecasting model
has the cyclone 500 km due north of Auckland, affecting Northland and
drifting slowly south," he said.
The
system would no longer be classified as a tropical cyclone, however
it could still cause strong winds and heavy rainfall.
MetService
said the ex-tropical cyclone may bring strong winds and rain to
Northland, Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula from late on Friday.
It said a warning is unlikely to be issued before Friday, but
conditions may reach warning levels over the weekend.
Meanwhile,
the Orion's search for eight fishermen missing from three boats off
Samoa was due to resume this morning.
The
Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) said both the Orion
and the French Navy had searched the coast and sea area south of
Samoa yesterday, but there was no sign of the men.
Samoan
authorities had advised that a hull spotted by the Orion on the
island of Apolima had been there for some weeks, and was not one of
targets of the current search.
The
RCCNZ was awaiting information from the skipper of one of the missing
vessels who reached the island of Monono.
A
sighting of a hull floating 45km west of Monono was yet to be
confirmed as one of the boats being sought.
INCREASED INTENSITY
The
deadly storm, which yesterday increased intensity from category 3 to
4, was forecast to lie about 115km southwest of the Yasawas Islands
and 185km north-northeast of Nadi about 6.30am, the Fiji
Meteorological Service said.
Average
winds in the centre of the cyclone were expected to reach 185kmh,
with momentary gusts of 270kmh.
Four
people have been confirmed dead and up to eight are missing after the
cyclone struck Samoa on Thursday.
More
than 400 New Zealanders had registered with the High Commission in
Fiji, acting head of mission Phillip Taula told Radio New Zealand.
"The
advice to any New Zealanders currently in Fiji is to follow any
instructions issued by local authorities and to keep their family in
New Zealand informed of their wellbeing," he said.
"We're
encouraging any New Zealanders in Fiji to register with us."
New
Zealanders in Fiji were asked to check the Government's safe travel
website.
The
military commissioner for northern Fiji, Lieutenant Colonel Ilai
Moceica, imposed a curfew from 8pm to 6am, the Fiji Times reported.
According
to Fiji Live, 2534 Fijians were in 31 evacuation centres overnight,
and power was out in parts of Labasa, in the northern part of the
island of Vanua Levu.
That
included the Labasa Corrections Facility and the local barracks.
Government
facilities were using back up power arrangements.
Fiji
Live said 80 military personnel and 40 police were heading to the
area ahead of the cyclone, and movement would be restricted today.
The
cyclone has forced the cancellation of a number of Air Pacific and
Qantas flights between Apia, Nadi and Auckland today.
A
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said New Zealanders
in Fiji were advised to follow any instructions from local
authorities, including any evacuation orders, and keep family in New
Zealand informed.
People
in travel accommodation should follow the guidance of the
accommodation management and/or tour operators, he said.
New
Zealand actress Nicole Thompson was holidaying on Denarau Island, and
said so far this morning there had been "plenty of rain".
"The
majority of the marina shops and restaurants began bunkering down
last night when the island was extremely still. [It] was hard to
think a cyclone was on its way yesterday as it was very eerie and
quiet. All the large boats in the marina have left the port and head
just out to park up their boats in the mangroves," she told
herald.co.nz.
"We
are meant to leave this afternoon to head back to Auckland but AirNZ
has estimated our flight to be changed from this afternoon at 2.20pm
to 4.30pm tomorrow. Flooding of the streets in Nadi is expected and
after the devastating floods in March I hope all those lovely people
in there are keeping safe."
A
New Zealand journalist on holiday at The Hilton in Denarau, Marc
Hinton, told Newstalk ZB people would be served breakfast at the
hotel, but after that guests and staff were on strict instruction to
take shelter and wait it out.
He
said it was like the calm before the storm.
"The
message has definitely gone out, the cyclone's on its way (and) will
hit land here soon. So everyone's being encouraged to get provisions.
"We
went through Nadi town, it was pretty much like a ghost town,
everything was starting to be locked up, everything was being
bolstered down that could be."
Mr
Hinton said 95 per cent of the restaurants and shops in Nadi closed
late yesterday afternoon.
The
Fiji Government said it was working with the tourism industry to
co-ordinate preparation and recovery efforts as the cyclone
approaches.
"We
are concerned about the capacity of this cyclone and have activated
and mobilised our emergency response teams, disaster relief centers,
police and military forces," Ministry of Public Enterprises,
Communications, Civil Aviation & Tourism Permanent Secretary
Elizabeth Powell said.
"The
safety of our community and our international guests is our main
concern, and we have established and stocked 300 emergency centres -
should they be needed."
Meanwhile
the search for eight fishermen missing from three boats off Samoa has
resumed.
The
Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) said searches by the
crew of a RNZAF P3 Orion and the French Navy failed to find any of
the men.
The
Orion reported a possible sighting of a hull floating 45km west of
Monono but this has yet to be confirmed as one of the boats being
targeted in the search.
The
RCCNZ said it was awaiting information from the skipper of one of the
missing vessels who reached the island of Monono.
Cyclone Evan roaring across Fiji
17
December, 2012
Severe
tropical cyclone Evan is this morning slamming into Fiji with
hurricane force winds, torrential rain and wild seas.
WeatherWatch.co.nz
says the centre of Evan now lies almost over the northern island of
Vanua Levu.
Head
weather analyst Philip Duncan says the powerful cyclone is just
offshore but that means the worst of the winds - which wrap around
the centre - are now roaring across populated places. "This
deadly tropical cyclone will be catastrophic for some communities and
low lying islands. This is about as serious as it gets".
Evan
is producing sustained winds of around 170km/h with gusts to 230km/h.
However the damaging gales extend for 220kms from the centre "This
means damaging wind gusts can and most likely will affect almost all
of Fiji today".
"The
centre of this cyclone is right now slamming into northern Fiji and
over the next 12 to 24 hours will push very slowly across the rest of
Fiji including Nadi".
This
map shows exactly where Evan is located, just north west of Vanua
Levu and now heading into the main island of Fiji.
The
brown and purple indicate severely damaging hurricane force winds.
Image
as of 7am Monday morning courtesy of weathermap.co.nz
Evan
is tracking west south west which will take him closer to Nadi later
today and into Tuesday.
"Evan
is a very slow moving cyclone which greatly increases the risks of
flooding and landslides. It also means relentless damaging waves
which in some cases will be putting low lying islands entirely
underwater right now" says Mr Duncan.
Evan
could cause significant damage to island resorts in the Yasawa
islands north west of Nadi where hurricane force winds coupled with a
large storm surge could inundate some resorts and communities.
Cyclone
Evan and New Zealand
WeatherWatch.co.nz
forecasters say a week ago they gave a 20% chance of Evan reaching
New Zealand, this morning Philip Duncan places that risk at around
60% as computer models for the second day in a row agree the most
likely course for Cyclone Evan is towards the upper North Island -
and some models have been picking this for a week now.
"We
believe this tropical storm will drop south towards Northland,
Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and East Cape
this coming weekend. In what shape or form is yet to be worked out
but even as an ex-tropical cyclone Evan could still bringing flooding
rains and damaging wind gusts".
Mr
Duncan says with so many people about to head away for Christmas it
was important to get the message out. "We aren't going to be
hit in the same way as Fiji is, but we can't rule out a day or two of
severe weather for some parts of New Zealand this coming weekend as
Evan likely moves down our way".
WeatherWatch.co.nz
says the models show Evan will be weakening before he reaches New
Zealand and will most likely fizzle out around the nation. "Cyclone
predictions for New Zealand are always very hard - look how narrow
the top of New Zealand is - these storms can slide down either side
like an egg on a roof".
Mr
Duncan says people don't need to panic, but should just monitor the
weather forecasts and latest weather news as cyclones and ex-cyclones
can be fairly unpredictable.
Evan
is helping to complicate the Christmas Day forecast for New Zealand.
"If Evan wasn't in the picture I'd say Christmas Day will be
settled for 90% of the country. Now we have a bit of a wild card".
WeatherWatch.co.nz
has been updating New Zealanders on Evan's potential track for over a
week now - and will continue updates each day this week.
Evacuations
as Cyclone Evan hits Fiji
12.34 NZT
A
powerful cyclone has crashed into the main tourist belt in Fiji,
bringing powerful winds which are expected to be followed by heavy
rain.
Have
you been affected by Cyclone Evan in Fiji? Email your newstips,
photos and videos to newstips@stuff.co.nz
Cyclone
Evan, a category four storm on a five point scale, is now just north
of the main populated island of Viti Levu.
The
Fiji Electricity Authority has cut all power on the island, including
to the capital Suva.
Wellington
lawyer Janet Mason, who is in her Lautoka home, says the cyclone
suddenly became very intense late this morning.
"It
is extremely windy, and I can see nobody out in it," she said.
"I
doubt if you could stand up in it anyway."
She
said they could see trees coming down around them and the "howling
wind" was tearing at their roof of their house.
"It
has suddenly gone very dark."
This
morning Fiji authorities issued urgent appeals for people near the
coast to get to safety quickly, including in Nadi, home to the
international airport.
They
have also called for people to move back from the Coral Coast which
is home to dozens of international hotels, resorts and guest houses.
The
cyclone's journey over Fiji was expected to last into tonight and
there are fears of very large sea swells with high tide due at 10pm.
Fiji's
old capital Levuka was being pounded just after midday, while in the
north Rakiraki has been cut off by heavy rain.
The
bulk of the rain has yet to hit the Fiji highlands but when it does
there are fears the major rivers would flood heavily.
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