SUVA, Fiji, March 18 (UPI) -- The path of destruction left by Hurricane Tomas spanned the Fiji Islands, with officials saying one island was hit by high winds twice.
Officials said the storm sliced one way across Cicia, changed directions then struck the island again, The Fiji Times reported Thursday.
"We were hit from Monday night until 5.30 a.m. on Tuesday morning; the wind was coming from inland," Lemeki Rasalato, chief of Mabula, said.
On Tuesday, the winds shifted directions and the storm returned, Rasalato said.
"It uprooted houses and threw the materials about a (mile) away from the village," he said.
The 83-year-old chief said about 20 houses was damaged.
Reports from other islands were more of the same -- flattened houses, roofless buildings, debris strewn everywhere and plantations left in ruins in the wake of the class four storm, the Times said.
The Fiji Times did not include any reports of deaths. Government officials said they were assessing the damage as relief supplies were being distributed.
