Cyclone fury in South Pacific

HUNDREDS fled to storm shelters in the remote northern Cook Islands yesterday as the fourth cyclone in a month lashed the South Pacific nation.

Cyclone Percy, with winds of up to 125 miles an hour, passed near the islands’ Pukapuka Atoll and was near Nassau island by mid-afternoon local time.

Pukapuka lost all contact with the outside world. Contact was restored later in the day, and the island reported widespread damage, but no casualties.