Cyclone Tomas less destructive than expected

Homes have been destroyed, crops flattened and debris scattered across Fiji but Cyclone Tomas didn't cause as much damage as first thought, officials say.

New Zealand and Australian defence force aircraft have begun aerial surveys over the northern and eastern regions of Fiji which bore most of the brunt of the category four cyclone this week.

A natural disaster was declared in Fiji on Tuesday after gusts of wind peaking at more than 200kmh and massive storm surges forced 17,000 people out of their homes temporarily.

One person was reported killed.

New Zealand Squadron Leader Kavae Tamariki flew over Vanua Levu on Wednesday and, while his sight was hindered by cloud cover, he was able to observe the coast of Fiji's second-largest island.

"The villages that we did see, there were some that looked like they'd been hit hard, a lot of building damage, some houses that have lost their roofs and a few that were destroyed in total.

"But other villages looked like they were untouched,'' he told AAP, before taking off from Suva, alongside the Australian team, today.

"While we were flying along, surprisingly there weren't a lot of people around,'' he said. "Villages looked empty for the most part. I guess they're still held up in the shelters on the various islands.

"From what we saw yesterday the damage wasn't as significant as we expected, and that's a good sign.''

The Air Force teams were returning to Vanua Levu this afternoon and also checking out damage to the northern island of Cikobia and the Lau Group, to the east.

An 89-year-old villager from Cicia, an island in the Lau Group, told the Fiji Times he'd never seen a storm with the intensity of Tomas.

"It uprooted houses and threw the materials about a kilometre away from the village,'' Lemeki Rasalato said.

Anthony Blake, from the Fiji Disaster Management Office, said ground assessment crews had left the nation's capital and that vessels packed with emergency supplies were on standby.

"These are islands - they're quite isolated in normal times so in disaster time, they present quite a logistical issue in trying to get assessment teams on the ground,'' he told AAP.

Cyclone Tomas left Fijian waters yesterday.

New Zealand has committed an initial $1 million in aid to Fiji and its Red Cross teams are in action.

Rotary New Zealand has also handed out emergency response kits containing water treatment tablets, first aid materials, candles, tools and plastic cover sheets in Fiji, and more are on the way.

The New Zealand High Commission in Suva confirmed the major tourist areas were largely unaffected by the cyclone and had made contact with most resorts in the affected areas where New Zealand citizens were staying.

Nadi and Nausori airports were now operational but people planning to travel to Fiji should check with travel agents or accommodation providers for information on domestic flights and possible resort damage, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

\NZP 18/03/10 1632NZ