People are splashed by a wave whipped up by the encroaching cyclone Winston in Labasa, Fiji, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. The Pacific island nation of Fiji is hunkering down as a formidable cyclone with winds of 300 kilometers (186 miles) per hour approaches. (Luke Rawalai/Fiji Times via AP)WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – Fijians were finally able to venture outside Monday after authorities lifted a curfew but much of the country remained without electricity in the wake of a ferocious cyclone that left at least six people dead and destroyed hundreds of homes.
Officials were scrambling to restore services and assess damage in remote parts of the Pacific Island chain.
Winds from Cyclone Winston, which tore through Fiji over the weekend, reached 177 miles (285 kilometers) per hour, making it the strongest storm in the Southern Hemisphere since record-keeping began, according to the Weather Underground website.
The government imposed the curfew on Saturday night and lifted it at 5:30 a.m. Monday. A 30-day declaration of a state of natural disaster remains in effect and empowers police to make arrests without warrants.
In a televised address to the nation on Sunday, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said many people had been left without power, fresh water or communications.