Cyclone Winston is bearing down on Fiji and is expected to impact most of the country with destructive winds gusting as high as 315km/h. People in Fiji have been urged to secure their properties and stock up on supplies as the cyclone approaches. Here is a list of essential information provided by government agencies.
Curfew:
A nationwide curfew would be imposed in Fiji from 6 o'clock on Saturday evening.
The National Disaster Management Office said the measure would apply to the whole country and only essential services would be permitted to travel.
A Fiji government statement said the curfew would be in place until further notice.
A 30-day state of emergency was also declared by the government.
Cyclone Warnings:
The Fiji Meteorological Service is currently issuing cyclone warnings every hour. People are advised to listen to the radio for the latest warning information about a powerful, yet erratic, cyclone that has frequently changed course.
The Fiji Broadcasting Corporation and other private radio stations are broadcasting frequent warnings, as is RNZ International, which is broadcasting to Fiji via shortwave radio all weekend. Find out how to listen here.
Cyclone warnings and forecasts are also published on the Fiji Meteorlogical Service's website, in the 'current warnings' section to the left-hand-side of the page.
There have been reports of the Fiji Meteorological Service website struggling with the volume of visits, so RNZI has also started publishing each warning here.
Transport:
Many international and domestic flights into and out of Fiji have been cancelled.
Fiji Airways on Saturday announced that it would extend a waiver of fees for passengers holding a valid ticket for travel between 19-25 February.
The airline said that most flights, apart from some international flights that had been brought forward on Saturday, had been cancelled. All flights scheduled for Sunday and Monday were also cancelled.
Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia had also cancelled their flights for Sunday.
Many ferry sailings and island crusies were cancelled, and police advised people not to go out on the roads unless absolutely necessary.
All public transport, including buses, taxis, mini buses, and other carriers were stopped from 5pm on Saturday.
Evacuation Centres:
More than 700 evacuation centres had been opened across the country, the National Disaster Management Office said. A list of evacuation centres in all four divisions can be found here.
Emergency Contacts:
In an emergency, here are the phone numbers for the National Emergency Operations Centre.
Northern Division: 881-1322 or 881-1005
Central Division: 347-7000
Western Division: 628-1553
Eastern Division: 321-6466
Power and Communications:
On Saturday evening there were reports of widespread power outages starting to affect most of Fiji. Conditions are currently unsafe for crews to attempt to restore power.
Telephone communication has also reportedly been lost to most of the Lau group and the country's north.
