Category 5

After reaching category 5 ‘super’ status on Wednesday, Cyclone Yasa tracked further north than predicted and made landfall over Bua district on Vanua Levu.

Save the Children Fiji CEO Shairana Ali said:

“It’s still too early to know the extent of the impact, but we’re hearing reports Yasa destroyed entire villages in the north.

“There are collapsed buildings, trees snapped in half and debris strewn all over the ground. Schools have been damaged and roofs blown away.

The public is being warned to prepare to be hit by a devastatingly severe cyclone with impacts to be felt late Thursday and into Friday.

Cyclone Yasa is a category five storm, packing winds of up to 315 km/h.

Its forecast track has it moving across the main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu as it snakes southeast.

Fiji Met Service forecaster Steven Meke said the public needed to prepare for the worst.

"The impacts will be devastating for Fiji.