A state of emergency remains in force for Tuvalu as the government continues to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Tino two weeks ago.
Debris swept in by the lagoon on Tuvalu's main island, Funafuti. Photo: Supplied / Aselu Lopati
The government said about half of the country's population of 11,000 people had been severely affected by the storm.
Director of Tuvalu's disaster management office, Sumeo Silu, said about 20 families were still at evacuation centres in the capital of Funafuti.
He said their homes were completely destroyed during cyclone Tino.
Food security also remained a major concern after waves, whipped up by the storm, inundated gardens and strong winds uprooted plants and damaged banana and breadfruit trees
Mr Silu said the cyclone also damaged infrastructure including power, communications and water containment facilities.
An assessment team returned from the southern islands on Friday night and was now headed to the central and northern islands.
People ride their scooters through the debris washed up by Cyclone Tino on the main island, Funafuti. Photo: Supplied / Aselu Lopati
Although a state of emergency remains in place, Tuvaluans say life is beginning to return to normal for most of the islanders.
Funafuti resident Luiani John said some people had started returning to their homes from the evacuation centres.
"It's back to normal now. The weather, the workers. They're all back to work. The students - they've gone back to school especially the secondary school students because the boat was delayed due to Tropical Cyclone Tino. But now they're already back at school."
The state of emergency has been in place since 24 January.
Meanwhile, the Fiji Red Cross society has distributed 750 relief items to people affected by Cyclone Tino in the Lau Group.
Operations Manager, Patiliai Leqa told the Fiji Village that over 1000 people had been assisted in areas Oneata, Moce, Fulaga, Ogea, Komo, Kabara, Namuka-I-Lau and Ono-I-Lau.
Mr Leqa said their teams had distributed 350 mosquito nets, 100 water containers, 100 dignity kits designed for the health of women and girls, 100 hygiene kits and 100 solar lamps.
Other governments and non-governmental organisations helped them in distributing relief items, he said.