Fiji declares nationwide curfew ahead of cyclone

ANKARA

Fiji Thursday imposed a night-long curfew as a heavy cyclone is expected to make a landfall on the archipelago nation in the southern Pacific.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said that a nationwide curfew will be enforced from Thursday evening until Friday morning due to Tropical Cyclone Yasa, the daily Fiji Times reported.

Fiji, with a population of less than a million, is an archipelago of more than 300 islands in the deep Pacific.

The government of Bainimarama has also declared a state of natural disaster for a period of 30 days, said the country's National Disaster Management Office head Vasiti Soko.

Authorities expect the cyclone to hit two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu today or early tomorrow.

“One of the key priorities in that is it allows the National Disaster Management Office to call all of the government’s assets to be on standby and to be mobilized,” Soko said, according to the Fiji Times.

“There are provisions in the regulations where we will work with the Fiji Police Force in regards to evacuating people.”

Rains have caused landslides and people have been asked to stay indoors and move to higher ground for safety.