Tropical Cyclone Zena to weaken after slamming Fiji

By Mark Leberfinger, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

April 6,2016; 9:50PM,EDT

 

At least one person is dead and another is missing in Fiji in the wake of flooding brought on by Tropical Cyclone Zena.
The cyclone, was the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane in the eastern Pacific or Atlantic basins at peak strength but has since weakened.

Satellite shows Tropical Cyclone Zena moving toward Fiji

Zena is impacting much of the same area that was inundated by Tropical Cyclone Winston in late February, the strongest ever to hit the island nation.
Fijians were under a nationwide curfew as of 6 p.m. local time Wednesday (2 a.m. EDT Wednesday), the government said on its Facebook page. All schools are also closed on Thursday.
A fatality and a missing person were reported in the western division of the island chain, the Fiji Times said. Thousands of other people were evacuated as a result of the cyclone.
A separate disturbance brought around 300 mm (12 inches) of rain to Nadi on Sunday and Monday causing flooding ahead of Tropical Cyclone Zena. Another 150 mm (6 inches) has fallen from Tuesday night into Wednesday from Zena.
RELATED:
Fiji satellite
AccuWeather tropical cyclone center
Fiji weather map
Satellite imagery confirmed that Zena had strengthened markedly on Tuesday before weakening as it passed south of Fiji's main island.
"Heavy rain will soak Fiji into early Thursday morning, then improving weather is expected later Thursday as Zena pushes off to the east-southeast," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said.
Zena will likely dissipate near Tonga, on Thursday night or Friday, local time.
Flooding occurred on Wednesday, April 6,2016, in Rakiraki, Fiji, as a result of Tropical Cyclone Zena impacting the island nation. (Twitter photo/Fiji Red Cross)
Meteorologist Eric Leister contributed content to this story.