6,000 flee homes in Fiji as storms kill 8

Suva: Authorities have scrambled to aid thousands of villagers who fled flooding from tropical storms that have killed at least eight people in the Pacific island of Fiji.

The government declared a state of emergency Monday in the hardest-hit western districts of the main island of Veti Levu, where dozens of international resorts are located.

The airport in Nadi, the island's main link to the outside, remained opened, but the city was flooded and some tourists were being turned back to their points of origin.

Authorities said six people have drowned in floodwaters and two were killed in a landslide.

More than 6,000 people have been forced into emergency shelters in schools and other public buildings.