Fiji has escaped major damage from the category four cyclone that tore through the Pacific nation overnight, with no major population centres affected.
Cyclone Gita brought winds up to 275km/h and heavy rain across Ono-I-Lau and Vatoa, Fiji's southernmost islands, knocking out communications, although Fiji's National Disaster Management Office said early reports showed limited damage.
"The only reports received of damage to homes are from Ono-i-Lau. Three homes have been completely destroyed and four damaged. Overall, damage to infrastructure has been minimal," Anare Leweniqila, director of Fiji's National Disaster Management Office, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Leweniqila said crops on both islands had been damaged but Fiji's most populated centres escaped serious harm as Gita passed south of Fiji's capital, Suva.
Gita caused extensive damage in Samoa and American Samoa at the weekend and hit Tonga hard on Monday night, causing widespread destruction and flooding.
Forecast tracking by Tropical Storm Risk had the cyclone moving westwards and then heading south, avoiding New Caledonia.
