12.7.2007 8:46 AM

Ferocious Cyclone Daman Nears Fiji

Hurricane Packs Winds of Up to 155 MPH

Cyclone Daman is expected to hit Fiji as a strong hurricane today.

Photo: Joint Typhoon Warning Center

By Dan Shapley

Ferocious Cyclone Daman is nearing landfall in Fiji today, and it winds could strike with Category 4 hurricane strength, according to press reports.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated its winds at 120 mph Friday morning, making it a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The center forecast a slight weakening of the storm, to 115 mph sustained winds, by the time it makes landfall. That would still make the storm a strong Category 3 storm.

The Los Angeles Times and Chinese state-run media, however, quoted the South Pacific nation's Nadi Meteorological Center, which put the storm's winds at 155 mph, making it a Category 4 monster.

Regardless of its absolute strength, the storm is big, and bearing down on the island nation.

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