flooding

The slide occurred on Thursday at on the remote coast.

Office director Loti Yates said it came as a severe low hit the region, causing heavy downpours and extensive flooding.

Bridges, roads and villages had been washed away.

"There are communities that have lost homes and properties and the NDMO has been working with the Red Cross and other NGOs to access non-food items, such as shelter kits, garden, kitchen and hygiene kits to be delivered."

Severe weather warnings for rain, winds and flooding have been issued for coastal areas of the eastern state.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned of "dangerous conditions" on Saturday and Sunday.

There has already been flooding in Sydney and other areas along the coast.

Friday was the wettest day recorded in well over a year in Sydney, where roads were closed and public transport delayed.

Other NSW towns faced flood waters as well, including Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour, where 280mm and 250mm of rain fell respectively.

Cyclone Kenneth struck with winds of 220km/h (140mph) barely a month after a previous cyclone killed hundreds and devastated large areas.

Heavy rain continued to fall on Friday, raising fears of more floods.

Authorities have advised people to move to higher ground amid concern that thousands may be trapped in remote villages.

Mozambique was still recovering from Cyclone Idai, which killed more than 900 people across three countries in March.

The Solomons has been afflicted by heavy rain and strong winds for the last two weeks, which have caused rivers to bust their banks and sweep through villages on the main islands of Malaita and Guadalcanal.

The flash flooding has contaminated drinking water and destroyed food gardens.

Director of the Disaster Management Office, Loti Yates, said food supplies and health and sanitation packs were needed as the risk of water and mosquito borne diseases was rising.

Eighty percent of those affected are subsistence farmers living in rural areas, Mr Yates said

Fiji police have confirmed that a man was swept away by strong currents and another man is still missing as flood waters begin to rise again a week after Cyclone Josie.

Heavy rain, widespread flooding, and damaging winds are expected over the next 24 to 48 hours.

The Director National Disaster Management Office Anare Leweniqila said the weather system has a high potential of developing into a category one cyclone.

The National Disaster Management Office said initial assessments in Honiara show the biggest impact has been on people living in squatter settlements.

The NDMO director Loti Yates said the torrential downpour, which continued for most of Thursday, will have negative impacts on water and sanitation, people's food gardens and pose the risk of disease outbreaks.

Mr Yates said more detailed assessments are being carried out today to ensure affected communities get the support they need to recover.

Gita swept through Samoa at the weekend when it was still a category two storm.

Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and a government assessment team visited parts of the country yesterday.

RNZI reports most of the damage caused has been through flooding, especially in and around Apia where the Vaisigano River's banks were breached.

One of the most serious flooding areas was around Samoa's iconic Aggie Grey's Sheraton Hotel near the Apia waterfront.

The hotel is now closed as workers are concentrating on the clean-up.

Showers are forecast to continue today with the Department of Education cancelling school for a second day.

American Samoa Meteorologist Salu Malala Salu said the approaching depression was expected to intensify within the next 24 hours.

"There's a tropical depression ... and it's located about halfway between us and Fiji. Looking at the models, it should come near Savai'i and Upolu [in Samoa] late tonight," Mr Salu said.

Heavy rain continued to fall across much of the Australian state and authorities prepared for possible evacuations in the north-east.

The state is enduring what the weather bureau says is an "unprecedented" deluge that could bring three months' of rain in three days, with another 150mm forecast to fall in some areas.

While the threat has eased somewhat in Melbourne, emergency workers are paying particular attention to the north-east ranges, where significant flooding is expected and warnings have been issued for the Ovens and King rivers.

A record 30in of rain (75cm) has already fallen on the city of Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, turning roads into rivers.

But forecasters say that number could nearly double later this week.

On Monday President Donald Trump also approved an emergency declaration for neighbouring Louisiana.

Harvey made landfall as a category-four hurricane late on Friday, bringing flooding described by officials as "unprecedented". It was later downgraded to a tropical storm.