Sydney  - Pacific Forum countries will meet next month to decide whether to suspend Fiji's military rulers from their 16-member regional forum, the Papua New Guinea government announced in Port Moresby on Friday.

The meeting, which was initially scheduled for Tuesday, will be held February 10, Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare said in a statement.

Fiji's leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who ousted the elected government in a bloodless coup two years ago, told Somare he couldn't attend next week because he was required in Suva to oversee flood-relief efforts.

Wellington - Fiji, which has been devastated by floods following torrential rains over the last week, has made an international appeal for aid, especially drinking water, according to reports from the capital Suva on Friday.

The Pacific island state's Foreign Affairs Secretary Ratu Isoa Gavidi told Radio New Zealand that 20 countries had been asked to help with water, holding tanks and purification tablets at the top of the list.

He said it could be two or three weeks before fresh water supplies are restored to some flood-stricken areas. Clothing, bedding and tents were also needed.

Wellington  - Torrential rains lashed flood-stricken Fiji again on Wednesday and weather forecasters warned that worse was to come as another tropical depression settled over the Pacific island state.

The town of Nadi, where the country's international airport is situated, was reported to be cut off under 1.5 metres of water after a nearby river burst its banks for the second time overnight and police allowed nobody to enter unless they own a business.

Wellington  - The flood-stricken Pacific island state of Fiji braced Tuesday for more torrential rains as another tropical depression was forecast to arrive later in the day, according to reports from the capital Suva.

A state of emergency has already been declared over wide areas of the main island Viti Levu, where three towns, including Nadi, site of the country's international airport, are under water and a night-time curfew is in place to prevent looting.

The official death toll has been updated to three, with four people listed as missing.

Wellington  - Health authorities in the Pacific island state of Fiji warned Monday of a possible typhoid outbreak following four days of torrential rains which have flooded large areas, killed seven people and forced more than 9,400 to be evacuated from their homes.

With three towns, including Nadi, home to the country's international airport, under water and another tropical depression threatened, the health ministry urged people to collect rainwater to drink and to beware of contamination that could cause typhoid, dengue fever and diarrhoea.

Wellington  - More than 1,400 people have been evacuated from homes threatened by floodwaters in Fiji, where two men died crossing swollen rivers, according to reports Saturday from the capital Suva.

Several towns, including Nadi, site of the Pacific island country's international airport, are under water, and a nighttime curfew has been ordered in the area to protect shops and other businesses from looting.