SUVA: Fiji was struck by its most powerful ever cyclone on Saturday, according to reports, as the island nation battened down the hatches with a curfew and evacuations.

The category five super-storm hit the main island of Viti Levu overnight, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, with flights canceled and evacuation centers activated earlier in the day. “As a nation, we are facing an ordeal of the most grievous kind,” Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said in a national address.

“We must stick together as a people and look after each other. Be alert and be prepared.”

Severe tropical cyclone Winston, with average winds of 220 kilometers (136 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 315 kilometers per hour, was the first ever category five storm to hit the nation, the Fiji Times reported.

The storm caused power to fail across the main island after making landfall, according to local reports.