Cyclone Yasa made landfall Thursday in Fiji as a category five storm.
In response, Fiji ordered the entire population to take shelter, according to Reuters. Cyclone Yasa is expected to be the worst storm in the nation’s history, Reuters reported.
Fiji declared a state of natural disaster as Cyclone Yasa, a category five storm, made landfall in the Pacific island nation https://t.co/qbYZYkw9AT pic.twitter.com/fjMBOgL0Np
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 17, 2020
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said 95% of Fiji’s population is in the path of destruction, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Millions Forced To Evacuate As Cyclone Amphan Hits India And Bangladesh)
“The impact for this super storm is more or less the entire country,” Bainimarama said in a Facebook video noted by the outlet.
Bainimarama claimed this storm could “easily surpass” the strength of the most intense tropical storm on record, Cyclone Winston. The storm left 40 people dead in Fiji and tens of thousands without a home, according to Reuters.
The cyclone is expected to bring winds of up to 155 miles per hour and torrential rain. It first made landfall in Bua, which does not have power, a local hotel worker told Reuters.
“The power is off, we don’t know about anybody, the winds are quite strong, but we are okay for the time being,” the hotel worker told the outlet.
“When daylight comes, then we’ll know what damage has been done,” he added.