SUVA – The death toll from super-cyclone Winston that hit Fiji on the weekend has reached 42, with reports emerging of entire villages wiped out on some remote islands.

The Fijian government confirmed the death toll, saying it feared the number would rise further as relief teams reach isolated communities.

“Forty-two Fijians now confirmed dead – disaster officials continue to deploy teams to help those affected across Fiji,” government spokesman Dan Gavidi tweeted.

The acting head of the Red Cross’s Pacific office Ahmad Sami said more fatalities were coming to light as government and aid agencies sent back information from remote communities.

“The numbers will continue to change as we have better access to information and establish communications,” he said.

The village of Namacu on Koro Island– a coastal community of around 250 people – which lies in the Koro Sea between Fiji’s two largest islands, was one of the worst-hit by Cyclone Winston on the weekend.

Aid is slowly arriving on the island but island resident Serepe Pela, who lives in Nasau village, said more assistance was desperately needed.

“They need their houses to be constructed. At present all houses were ruined by Cyclone Winston,” he said. “Maybe by next week there will be no more food.”

Other residents on Koro Island told local media how several people were killed by huge waves whipped up by the cyclone.

The scale of the devastation is becoming clearer as authorities make contact with smaller islands impacted by the Category Five storm.

Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has announced victims would have access to low-interest loans to rebuild their homes.

“Our relief effort is in full swing,” he said in a national address.

“We are spreading out all over the country, identifying areas of need and doing everything in our power to provide our people with relief supplies and assistance as fast as we can.”

Many Fijians say help has been too slow but Bainimarama said authorities were working as hard as possible.

“Whoever you are in Fiji, wherever you are in Fiji, we are doing our best to reach you,” he said.

“We realise the desperate position you are in, we realise how traumatic this is for you and your families and we ask for your patience and we ask for your understanding.

“We will not rest until we have reached you and have given you the helping hand you so badly need and deserve,” the prime minister said.

It was also announced the country’s largest superannuation fund would provide grants worth several thousand dollars to affected members.

- ABC