Fiji cyclone death toll climbs to 18 as aid sent to islands

This handout photograph taken and provided on February 21, 2016 by Jay Dayal shows damage to a home in Ba after the most powerful cyclone in Fiji's history battered the Pacific island nation.

The death toll from a ferocious cyclone which tore through Fiji over the weekend has risen to 18 as authorities on Monday began to get a grasp on the scale of the disaster and deploy aid to hard-hit outer islands.
Authorities were still having trouble communicating with some islands, including places like Koro Island which suffered some of the worst damage. And more than 6,000 residents across Fiji were staying in emergency shelters after their homes were broken or swamped.
Winds from Cyclone Winston, which tore through Fiji over the weekend, reached 177 miles (285 kilometers) per hour, making it the strongest storm in the Southern Hemisphere since record-keeping began, according to the Weather Underground website.
Getting emergency supplies to the group's far-flung islands and remote communities was the government's top priority said Ewan Perrin, Fiji's permanent secretary for communications. Home to 900,000 people, Fiji has more than 100 inhabited islands.
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Fiji - The death toll from the super-cyclone that hit Fiji over the weekend has risen from six to 17, Care Australia said Monday, citing Fijian government officials.
"Care Australia can confirm that figure of 17 dead," a Care spokesman told AFP after a briefing with disaster management officials in Suva.
Severe tropical cyclone Winston, the first category five storm in Fiji, hit the Pacific nation overnight Saturday, packing wind gusts of 325 km per hour, leaving a trail of destruction.