Fiji begins assessing damage after the most powerful cyclone in its history tears through island chain

Fiji began a massive clean-up on Sunday after the most powerful cyclone in its history battered the Pacific island nation, killing at least three people and leaving a trail of destruction.

The category five super-storm lashed the popular tourist destination overnight Saturday, packing wind gusts approaching 300 kilometres per hour, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.

George Dregaso from Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office says two people on Ovalau Island died when the house they were sheltering in collapsed on them. Another man died on Koro Island, although it wasn’t clear how. Police are investigating reports of two more deaths on the main island of Viti Levu.

Fijians shared pictures on social media of roofless houses, flooded streets and metal signposts bent over by the sheer force of the winds but the full extent of the destruction was not yet clear.

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