Cyclones Begin in South Pacific

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The first storm of the South Pacific cyclone season hit outlying islands of Vanuatu on Tuesday, packing powerful winds, heavy rains and big ocean swells, officials said.

Communications lines to the Banks, Maewo and Torres islands were cut by the storm, which was strengthening as it moved southeast toward the capital, Port Vila, with winds near the center of the storm estimated at 94 mph.

“We don’t know if there has been any damage yet,” said Lucas Merrigan of the country’s Disaster Management Office.

The Fiji Tropical Cyclone Center said the storm, called Cyclone Xavier, could bring “destructive” winds to Vanuatu’s northern islands on Tuesday and Wednesday, and warned residents of the country to take precautions.

Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides Islands, is made up of 13 main islands located 1,680 miles northwest of New Zealand.

The South Pacific cyclone season normally runs from November through April and can cause widespread damage to tiny island states, including coral atolls only meters above sea level that are at the mercy of wave surges.

Cyclones – known as typhoons in much of Asia and hurricanes in the Western hemisphere – are large-scale rotating storms that generate high winds and typically form at sea before moving inland.