Fiji's cyclone bill reaches 35 million dollars

Terra Daily via Agence France-Presse: The bill for the devastation caused by Cyclone Tomas in Fiji earlier this month has reached 67 million Fiji dollars (35 million US), a disaster official said Wednesday. The category four cyclone hit the north and east of the Pacific nation two weeks ago, packing winds averaging 175 kilometres (109 miles) an hour and leaving three people dead.

The destruction figure, which does not take into account housing repair and reconstruction, includes 53 million dollars in damage to the agriculture sector, Disaster Management Office director Pajiliai Dobui said. The wind and waves caused by storm surges destroyed or badly damaged more than 500 houses, and wrecked many crops in what was described by some as the worst cyclone in living memory….