Final Exam Part 2

At 2 a.m. yesterday morning, meteorologists at the Nadi Weather Centre detected a cyclone developing rapidly near Nauru and moving quickly south-west across the Pacific towards the Solomon Islands.

"It was a fast developing front that we could not have anticipated any faster."

By 10 a.m., winds in Honiara were blowing at more than 140 kilometres per hour.

"It was pretty chaotic for a few hours there when the storm hit the community."

They broadcast warnings on the radio and alerted the police, who in turn sent officers to warn the local people.

"We warned all the proper authorities."

At about midday, the centre of the cyclone passed directly over Honiara before tracking into the Coral  Sea, where it blew itself out.

"The storm had sustained winds of 140 kph and was classified as a Level 4 Cyclone"

In Honiara, more than 20 houses were destroyed and a number of other buildings sustained considerable structural damage. More than 100 people are now homeless. Six people were killed. Another 18 people have been treated in hospital for minor injuries.

"We have heavy hearts over the six people who lost their lives today."

 Police say that of the six people who died, three men drowned when their car was blown off the road into a river, and two women and a man were killed by flying debris.

"We are devastated that our son, Frank, was killed. He was returning home from a vacation to Australia when the storm hit."

Mopping-up operations have started in Honiara. The emergency services are still awaiting news from outlying districts but believe that Honiara has been the worst affected.

"It could have been worse but the emergency shelters established three years ago after Hurricane Kilo gave our people a place to hide."

"The church is open to anyone who has lost their home and need a place to stay."