SUVA – The first tropical cyclone for 2016 has lashed Fiji’s outlying islands, after causing destruction in parts of Tonga.

Category three Cyclone Ula brought constant 150kmh winds and heavy rain to the Lau group, in Fiji’s eastern division in recent days.

Initial reports say the cyclone caused no major damage as the system passed through the islands on Sunday and Monday after hitting northern Tonga on Saturday.

The Disaster Management Office says reports from Ono-i-Lau and Kabara islands – which lies half way between Tonga and Fiji – say there were no casualties and no significant structural damage – but some corrugated iron roofs were blown away.

Many people sought shelter in safe structures at the height of the storm.

The cyclone, which was still producing average winds of 140kph yesterday and gusts of more than 190kph, has now moved about 230 kilometres past Ono-i-Lau in to open seas.

Although Ula is moving south-westwards away from Fiji, it could curve back towards the island in coming days. While the winds will ease and no longer be such a threat, rainfall is likely to continue across Viti Levu.

A strong wind warning is still in force for most of Fiji and mariners are warned of rough to very rough seas.

Fiji’s National Emergency Operation Centre says the storm disrupted various water supply facilities and power lines among other infrastructure in the central and eastern divisions.

The cyclone hit Tonga’s north on Saturday, with nearly 400 people relocating to evacuation centres.

The Vava’u and Ha’apai islands were placed under a state of emergency to allow evacuation procedures to take place ahead of the storm.

Authorities in Tonga reported damage to houses and fallen trees, but no casualties.

Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva declared a state of emergency before the storm hit “in order to prevent or minimise the loss of human life, illness or injury”.

The northern island of Vava’u took the brunt of the category three cyclone with winds up to 150kph and rainfall in excess of 100mm.

“We are very happy that there are no casualties, police checked with hospitals and town officers to confirm that,” the chairman of the National Emergency Management Office, Siaosi Sovaleni, told a press conference. “We had 11 evacuation centres, over 390 people were relocated to these evacuation centres.”

Ula formed early on Thursday in the South Pacific between Tuvalu and Samoa and was initially expected to remain a category one storm as it tracked west-south-westerly.

However, it intensified to category two late on Thursday then to category three as it approached Tonga where it brought down trees, damaged crops, and the main airport was closed to domestic flights.

The director of the Tonga meteorological office, Ofa Fa’anunu, said it was fortunate there was little moisture around which would have intensified the severity of the storm.

“On another day it would probably have become a category five,” he said. “If the moisture had been present it would have been the right ingredients for development into a much stronger system.”

Meanwhile, The National Disaster Management Office in Fiji says three people have died and four are missing after deciding to travel by sea during bad weather.

Three people, including a three year old, drowned earlier this week after attempting to make the return crossing from Viti Levu to Ovalau.

It also says four people are missing after leaving to go fishing three days ago off Rakiraki on the island of Viti Levu.

The Disaster Management Office says the incidents were associated with a weather system not connected to
Cyclone Ula.

- PNC sources