Fiji hit by ‘strongest ever’ cyclone, braced for evacuations

A handout picture provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Cyclone Winston over Fiji, 20 February 2016. Airline flights in and out of Fiji were cancelled as a category-5 cyclone bore down on the South Pacific island nation. - EPA

SUVA, Fiji, Feb  20, 2016 (AFP) - Fiji was on Saturday struck by its most powerful ever cyclone, according to reports, as the island nation battened down the hatches with a blanket curfew and mass evacuations.

The category five super-storm hit the main island of Viti Levu overnight, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, with flights cancelled and evacuation centres activated earlier in the day.