Many international tourists at the popular vacation destination were trapped in their resorts, waiting for the storms to abate.

Fiji’s meteorology center said the storms were not associated with any tropical cyclones.

About 9,000 Fijians have been forced from the homes by the flooding, which has caused about $20 million in damage to roads and other infrastructure.

Many shops in the tourist center of Nadi were ruined by the floods, with local authorities saying most were uninsured and are unlikely to reopen.

"It's a wasteland out there," one store owner, Vijen Doundai, told the Australian Associated Press.

Sugar growers say tens of millions of dollars worth of cane fields have been destroyed, while dozens of dairy farms have been submerged, isolating cattle.

Self-appointed Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama launched an international appeal for money to be paid into a bank account he controls. The Bainimarama regime seized power in a military coup in December 2006.

Photo: Greg Fowler