Tropical Cyclone Kills 18 in Fiji

Fiji oficials began a cleanup Monday after a powerful cyclone rocked the Pacific island nation over the weekend. The death toll reached 18, though authorities were still having trouble communicating with some of the outer islands, which suffered some of the worst damage. Cyclone Winston’s winds reached 177 miles per hour, making it one of the most powerful storms in the Southern Hemisphere since record-keeping began. Ewan Perrin, Fiji’s permanent secretary for communication, said deploying aid and emergency supplies to the more remote communities was the top priority. Fiji has more than 100 inhabited islands and is home to 900,000 people. Tourism Minister Faiyaz Siddiq Koya said all tourists in Fiji were safe and that there was no significant damage to the majority of hotels on the main island.