The most powerful tropical storm ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere battered Fiji on Saturday with winds up to 177 miles per hour, leaving thousands without power on the island nation.

Fiji's prime minister declared a 30-day state of emergency on Saturday.

Tropical cyclone Winston hammered nearby Tonga last week, and then intensified to a Category 5 storm on Friday afternoon as it traveled over open water in the South Pacific. The storm made landfall on Fiji's main island VituLevu after the government-imposed curfew began at 6pm local time. The storm had sunk or destroyed boats and caused flash flooding on some of Fiji's outer islands.

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