Fiji scrambles to provide aid as cyclone toll rises

The devastation in Fiji following Cyclone Yasa was compared to a war zone yesterday as reconnaissance flights showed entire villages wiped out and authorities put the cost at hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The death toll rose to four with aid workers fearing it will increase when contact is re-established with outlying areas.

A state of natural disaster has been declared for 30 days as emergency services scramble to provide food and clothing to the worst affected areas.

The superstorm slammed into Fiji's second-largest island Vanua Levu late Thursday, leaving a trail of destruction and affecting 93,000 people, according to the National Disaster Management Office.

Of the 24,000 people who evacuated their homes at the height of the storm, 16,113 are still unable to return.

A New Zealand Air Force reconnaissance flight flew over the area on Saturday to assess the scale of the damage, with reports of houses, crops and entire livelihoods wiped out.

The storm also damaged schools and caused widespread flooding and landslides.

"We've been receiving pictures of Kia island. We have seen total devastation. It looks like a war zone," Save the Children Fiji chief executive Shairana Ali told AFP.

"Houses have been smashed to pieces and nothing remains. People are really desperate for shelter and desperate for food. There's obviously huge psychological damage."