SUVA, Fiji (AP) — Fiji has imposed a nationwide curfew after urging people near the coast to move to higher ground as the island nation prepares for a major cyclone to hit. Cyclone Yasa was expected to hit the country’s two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu later Thursday or early Friday. Authorities imposed an overnight curfew and declared a state of natural disaster. The National Disaster Management Office warned the cyclone could bring waves as high as 16 meters (52 feet) in some places and sustained winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour).
![Fiji Cyclone](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4a4c3b1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3261x1834+0+170/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4d%2F5b%2F0af473784fe3a3022adf3eac0e45%2Fap20352204399634.jpg)
AP
A store is shuttered in preparation for cyclone Yasa in the Tamavua neighborhood of Suva, Fiji, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. Fiji was urging people near the coast to move to higher ground Thursday ahead of a nationwide curfew as the island nation prepared for a major cyclone to hit.(AP Photo/Aileen Torres-Bennett)
![Fiji Cyclone](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4a4c3b1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3261x1834+0+170/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4d%2F5b%2F0af473784fe3a3022adf3eac0e45%2Fap20352204399634.jpg)
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