The scale of Cyclone Harold's impact continues to be revealed, days after last week's storm.
Devastation on a Kadavu coastal village in Fiji from TC Harold Photo: Fiji NDMO
Over 1700 people remained in evacuation centres in Fiji today following the severe tropical cyclone.
The storm passed through the country last Tuesday and Wednesday as a category four system.
Most evacuees are in 29 shelters in the smaller islands of the Eastern Division where, last night, 1067 people remained.
Central and Western Divisions held 384 and 252 displaced people respectively between 32 shelters.
The Northern Division had been given the all-clear but remained under Covid-19 restrictions.
Roads remain closed to much of the three divisions and utilities companies were working to restore power and water.
Electricity restoration slow
But Energy Fiji Limited had underestimated the time it would take to restore power in the wake of the cyclone.
EFL's chief executive Hasmukh Patel previously assured customers electricity would be running on Monday.
This morning, power had not been restored to most of the Western Division, with all of the Korolevu area still cut-off.
Sigatoka and Nadarivatu were running at only 30 percent.
Vunidawa and Naitasiri were the worst affected in the Central Division with only half of households with their power restored.
Devastation from TC Harold at Bouwaqa Village, Vatulele, Fiji. Photo: Supplied
Vatulele devastated by Cyclone Harold
Meanwhile in the village of Bouwaqa, on Vatulele in the Western Division, only 10 of the 56 homes there remained undamaged.
Fourteen were totally destroyed.
A villager now living in Lautoka, Vilisi Jackson, sent pictures of what looked like a war zone.
Ms Jackson said the village was right in the path of the cyclone.
She said Bouwaqa needed the very basics to help start rebuilding the lives of those who lived there.
A government vessel had left Suva last night for Vatulele.
"They're taking just the basic food items," Ms Jackson said.
"What's needed now is the food and the water. Because in my village, they have water tanks that collect rainwater from the roof. And after the storm, those water tanks have become contaminated with a lot of debris and salt water so it's really not safe to drink."
Ms Jackson said Vatulele had already been running low on supplies due to the Covid-19 lockdown and the cyclone had just made the situation worse.
Devastation from TC Harold at Bouwaqa Village, Vatulele, Fiji. Photo: Supplied