Fiji cyclone death toll rises to 4 with 1 missing

SUVA, Fiji (AP) — The death toll from a powerful cyclone that battered the Pacific island nation of Fiji last week has risen to four with one missing, an official said Sunday.

While Cyclone Yasa on Thursday spared the capital city, Suva, and the major tourist hub of Nadi on Fiji’s largest island, Viti Levu, the full extend of damage was still being assessed.

Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office Director Vasiti Soko told reporters that 7,731 people were still in 183 evacuation centers throughout the country.

Soko said an Australian military C-17 transport was expected to arrive later Sunday with shelter kits.

Before the cyclone hit with gusts of up to 345 kilometers (214 miles) per hour, authorities had imposed an overnight curfew and declared a state of natural disaster.

Located about one-third of the way from New Zealand to Hawaii, Fiji has a population of about 930,000.