Cyclone Aftermath: French Polynesia

Humbled by nature.

The aftermath of cyclone Oli has left hundreds homeless across the French Polynesian islands.

Tourists and residents living in coastal areas of the popular resort island of Tahiti were evacuated ahead of the storm's arrival.

Packing winds in excess of 130 mph, the Category 4 storm roared through the remote archipelago, which lies halfway between California and Australia.

Tubuai in the Austral islands, south of Tahiti, was worst hit.

[Tubai Gendarme]:
"It felt like it was the end of the world, noises, crackling sounds, whistling sounds, rain hitting against the shutters, water came under the doors and under the windows, it lasted for hours."

As the eye of the storm passed over the island there was an eerie lull.

[Daniel Aumeran, Construction Worker]:
"As it was night time, we didn't hear the wind coming, just branches cracking. At four o'clock in the morning everything became calm, and then at five o'clock in the morning the wind came back."

One man died and seven more were injured in the Austral islands, which have been badly damaged.

Communication with the island chain is patchy - power and telephone lines are down.

Flooding has closed many roads.

Aid is starting to arrive, but it'll be some days before authorities have a clear sense of the scale of the disaster.