Cyclone Harold: Rips Through Vanuatu & Heads For Fiji

Tropical Cyclone Harold is on its way to Fiji today after ripping through Vanuatu on Monday with winds of 215 kilometres per hour.

The ABC is reporting that the category five cyclone has destroyed up to 50 per cent of homes in the town of Luganville on Santo Island.

The cyclone is being labelled as one of the strongest to ever hit the South Pacific nation.

Thankfully there have been no reports of deaths or any significant injuries across Vanuatu at this early stage.

Unfortunately, the tropical cyclone has already seen 27 lives lost when a ferry in the Solomon Islands was caught up in the eye of the storm last Friday.

The powerful cyclone has now weakened slightly to a category four cyclone as it moves towards Fiji today.

A Tropical Cyclone warning is currently in force for the Southern Parts of Viti Levu which includes areas from Momi, Nadroga through to Pacific Harbour, Kadavu, Beqa, Vatulele, Matuku, Vatoa and Ono-I-Lau.

Winds of up to 175 kilometres per hour are expected to hit Suva, along with storm surges and flooding.

It comes as Fiji works to stop COVID-19 spreading beyond the 15 confirmed cases.

Harold’s path will likely see it go on to hit Tonga in the next 48 hours.

The rebuilding efforts when the cyclone has passed will no doubt be affected by complications resulting from COVID-19.

It may be more complicated for aid workers to reach the pacific islands as well as navigate how to carry out social distancing measures.

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