Cyclone Erica leaves one dead, 15 injured in New Caledonia
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NOUMEA, March 14 (AFP) - One person
was killed and 15 injured, three seriously, as a powerful cyclone hit the
French Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Friday, officials said.
The dead man worked for a building firm and fell while trying to secure sheet metal ahead of the arrival of Cyclone Erica, they said.
Erica, packing winds of up to 150 kilometres (100 miles) per hour, has disrupted communications and transport links, uprooted trees and carried away roofs of houses and public buildings.
The sudden arrival of the cyclone caught many residents of Noumea unawares and led to massive traffic jams as they tried to rush home.
hl-rd/nj/cl AFP
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Received by NewsEdge Insight: 03/14/2003 22:50:11
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