The government warns of floods and strong waves of up to two stories in areas with a population of more than 850,000, or 95% of Fijians.
The Fiji government on Thursday ordered a nationwide curfew, including a ban on public transportation, with a potentially devastating cyclone expected to trigger strong winds and flooding in the island nation in one day.
Cyclone Yasa, a top-five storm, is expected to bring winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) and torrential rains across the nation of the South Pacific archipelago when it hits land early. on Friday.
The country ordered a 14-hour curfew nationwide from 4pm (4:00 GMT) with people living in low-lying areas urged to move to higher ground before nightfall, say Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama in a video posted on Facebook.
“The impact of this super storm is more or less across the country,” Bainimarama said in the video.
Yasa would “easily surpass” the force of Cyclone Winston in 2016, he added, referring to the most intense tropical storm in the southern hemisphere recorded, which killed more than 40 Fiji and left tens of thousands homeless. .
More than 850,000 Fijians, or 95 percent of the population, live on the direct road to Yasa, Bainimarama said, adding that weather forecasts predicted rapid floods and “severe coastal flooding” that included waves of up to 10 meters. height.
“The world is warming”
Police would enforce the ban on public transportation, the country’s National Disaster Management Office said, adding that the country had declared a “natural disaster state” that gives police authorities greater power.
On Thursday, at 8pm (08:00 GMT), the center of Yasa was expected to be 100 km (62 miles) east of the village of Yasawa-i-Rara and potentially over the fifth province of Bua. , the most populous in Fiji, with 15,000 inhabitants. , said the office.
Shelters have been set up for possible evacuees and people living on the coast have been advised to look for higher ground.
Many houses in Fiji are made of wood or corrugated iron, materials that make them especially vulnerable in storms.
Hence the call to find refuge in schools, churches or even containers.
Committed for a long time to the fight against global warming, Bainimarama once again blamed the rising temperatures of these powerful cyclones, which were previously much rarer.
“The world is warming and these storms are strengthening it,” he lamented. “Each of us must take these climate-driven disasters seriously.”