SUVA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Category 5 tropical cyclone Harold has caused extensive damage to some parts of Vanuatu since Monday.
According to Vanuatu's English newspaper the Daily Post on Tuesday, tropical cyclone Harold is still moving over Vanuatu.
The two provinces of Torba and Sanma suffered flooding and damage from the cyclone. A lot of people were evacuated as the cyclone brought strong winds, destructive storm surges and heavy rainfall that resulted in flooding.
It also made landfall in the southwestern coast of Santo and damaged the infrastructure that could be costly to recover. Buildings were battered, communication networks and electricity have been disrupted since Monday.
Authorities in the affected provinces in Vanuatu have provided evacuation centers to many families. The tropical cyclone is expected to leave Vanuatu by mid-week.
Meanwhile, a tropical cyclone alert remains in force for Fiji and a number of roads around the island nation are closed due to flooding.
Damaging winds and flooding are likely to begin a few hours before the cyclone center passes nearby.
For South Pacific island nations such as Fiji and Vanuatu, the tropical cyclone season extends between November and April each year and the peak period for cyclone is usually from January to March.
