Heavy rains, strong winds as cyclone nears Fiji

Fiji imposed a nationwide curfew Thursday after urging people near the coast to move to higher ground as the island nation prepared for a major cyclone to hit.

Cyclone Yasa was expected to hit the two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu later Thursday or early Friday.

Authorities imposed an overnight curfew and declared a state of a natural disaster.

Evacuation centres were open in the country's Northern, Western and Central Divisions, officials said.

The National Disaster Management Office warned the cyclone could bring waves as high as 16 meters (52 feet) in some places and sustained winds of up to 250 kilometres per hour (155 mph), with gusts hitting 350 kph (217 mph).

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

(Image: NASA | representative)