Cyclone Evan hit Samoa on Thursday evening with strong winds and heavy rain. Four people are dead and eight in fishing boats are missing. The captain of one fishing boat managed to swim to a nearby island and was found by a Royal New Zealand Air Force plane.
There is heavy flooding and damage from the wind. Power poles and trees are down. Many houses are so badly damaged that thousands of people have had to go to emergency shelters.
Many New Zealand tourists are in Samoa at the moment. Those staying near beaches have moved to higher ground.
The cyclone is now getting stronger as it moves close to Fiji. It should hit tomorrow morning. The government has told everyone to make sure they have food and water, and stay inside. Tourists on island resorts have moved to the town of Nadi on the mainland. Now they have to wait until the storm is over.
Vocabulary
• cyclone – strong tropical storm which moves clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere
• Evan – a man’s name; cyclone are given a man’s name then a woman’s name beginning with A at the beginning of the cyclone season and moving through the alphabet. This is the 5th cyclone in the Pacific this season.
• managed – was able to but it was not easy, could
• resorts – hotels, holiday places
• is over – is finished
Grammar
So badly damaged that
The grammar is: so + (adverb) adjective + that