An aerial view of devastation wrought by Cyclone Winston. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Fiji Bureau of Meteorology said the Category 3 cyclone was currently 535km west of Nadi and strengthening and with it would bring gale force winds with gusts up to 170km/h and heavy rainfall.

Tourists at the Outrigger Resort on Fiji’s Coral Coast were moved from beachside bures to higher ground this morning as staff boarded up restaurants and enacted the emergency management plan.

Other guests are hastily rearranging travel plans with many unable to get to Nadi airport after roads were cut by flooding.

Some made their escape yesterday by helicopter paying FJ $600 adult FJ $400 to get to the airport.

This picture taken from a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster aircraft reveals the widespread flooding in Fiji caused by Tropical Cyclone Winston.Source:Supplied

Sydney couple Michael and Nicola Smart, celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary in Fiji, said it would not be the first time a milestone in their lives had been disrupted by Mother Nature.

“Our honeymoon was hit by a cyclone in Port Douglas in 2006, and now it’s déjà-vu,” Mr Smart said.

Others guests said they would ride out the elements at the bar with a Fiji Bitter until the lockdown.

At The Outrigger Resort all guests were told they would be confined to their rooms from 9pm today until further notice and were asked to move all balcony furniture inside.

One couple who arrived today for their wedding at the weekend said they were unsure if guests would be able to fly in and may have to cancel the event.

One person has already been reportedly killed in the lead up to the storm according to local media, while another is missing. Oxfam say although the cyclone will not be as damaging as Cyclone Winston, which was category five, it is still dangerous. “

The cyclone is expected to sit 170km south-southeast of Nadi on Thursday morning.

DEADLY SYSTEM ALREADY CLAIMS VICTIM

Heavy rain from the weather system has already caused flash flooding on Viti Levu, with police saying a 70-year-man was confirmed dead and a 13-year old girl was missing after swollen rivers burst their banks.

The Red Cross said volunteers were ready to distribute water purification tablets, jerry cans, and tarpaulins but had to wait for the weather to clear.

“As soon as the situation is safe, we will get out and assess the damage,” said the charity’s Viti Levu western division co-ordinator, Mohammed Hafiz.

“But it could be Friday, or at worst, Saturday, before this will be possible.”

The UN children’s organisation UNICEF said the latest emergency “could not come at a worse time for children and families in Fiji”.

“These are the same families that were directly affected by Cyclone Winston just over a month ago,” Suva-based spokeswoman Alice Clements said.

“Far too many are sheltering under tarpaulins, pieces of salvaged corrugated iron, in tents or again in evacuation centres.” The cyclone is forecast to pass within 150 kilometres of Viti Levu’s west coast early Thursday, although the path and intensity of such a storm is hard to predict.

Air New Zealand and Fiji Airways have cancelled services to the country.