SUVA, March 16 (AFP) - Fiji disaster management officials said Tuesday that authorities had received reports of "a few" deaths in the devastating cyclone that has pounded the nation.

"I think some lost their lives but it is just a few but what we have been hearing from some of the islands is the devastation and the wind and the storm surges were too much," National Disaster Management Office director Pajiliai Dobui told AFP.

He said the numbers could not be confirmed by police until communications were restored with affected islands in the Lau group, to the east of the main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.

Dobui said he did not have further information on the reported fatalities but said reports from islands suggested the cyclone was the worst in living memory.

"Those who have experienced other cyclones say this is the longest and the strongest they have come across -- and the most destructive," Dobui said.

Some villages in coastal areas had been inundated by waves caused by storm surges and destruction from winds averaging around 175 kilometres (109 miles) an hour, he said.

"Fortunately the cyclone passed through the most sparsely populated and least developed part of the Fiji group -- and imagine if the cyclone had passed just off the coast of (the main island) Viti Levu," he said.

The category four Cyclone Tomas hit the north of the country on Monday and was lashing islands in the eastern Lau group on Tuesday.

It was expected to start moving away from the Fiji island group on Tuesday night.

The extent of damage was still unclear with communications still cut off with many affected areas, officials said.