Super cyclone kills 6 in Fiji

Fiji began a massive clean-up yesterday after the most powerful cyclone in the Pacific nation's history left a trail of destruction, killing six people, flattening scores of homes and crippling infrastructure.

The super-storm lashed the popular tourist destination overnight Saturday, packing wind gusts of 325 kilometres per hour, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

OCHA said six people were killed during severe tropical cyclone Winston, the first-ever storm system to hit Fiji measuring a maximum category five.

"Homes have been destroyed, many low-lying areas have flooded," Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said earlier yesterday in a statement. "In the aftermath of this great tragedy, many are without power and full access to water, and are cut off from communication."

Bainimarama declared a state of natural disaster, to remain in place for one month.

Aid agencies admitted they simply had no idea about the full extent of the destruction, as Fijians shared pictures on social media of roofless houses, flooded streets and metal signposts bent over by the wild winds.

Save the Children Fiji chief Iris Low-McKenzie said it was too early to assess the impact on outlying islands, although unconfirmed reports said thousands of homes had been destroyed and entire villages flattened.