New Zealand defense chief to tour cyclone-battered Fiji

New Zealand Defense Minister Gerry Brownlee left for Fiji Tuesday to see New Zealand forces helping the Pacific island nation recover from the devastation of last month's cyclone.

The relief and reconstruction operation after Tropical Cyclone Winston has been one of the New Zealand Defence Force's (NZDF) largest peacetime deployments in the Pacific.

"I am visiting Fiji to support and thank our military people who have worked hard to assist the Fijians following last month's cyclone," Brownlee said in a statement before his departure.

As well as visiting affected islands with Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, Brownlee would also call on Fijian Minister for Defence Timoci Natuva and Minister of Agriculture and National Disaster Management Inia Seruiratu.

The NZDF had mainly been conducting relief operations in the Lau group of islands.

The NZDF had at its peak just over 470 personnel in Fiji working on recovery and reconstruction work, operating from two navy vessels as well as three helicopters and a Hercules aircraft.

The cyclone killed more than 40 people, and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and other buildings.