Cikobia left like a war zone

The first reports of the extent of damages is now emerging from Cikobia island which had been cut off when all communication lines were down during the height of cyclone Tomas.                    

The island of Cikobia in Vanua Levu has experience its worst ever natural disaster and the damage left by hurricane Tomas has left the place like a war zone as it was battered by strong winds for up to 12 hours as the cyclone moved closer.

In one of the first interviews with those living in Cikobia, villager Sanaila Cagituivei told our sister radio station Viti FM that they had prepared well for the hurricane but they did not expect it to be so devastating then what they experienced before.

Cagituivei said on Saturday morning they experienced strong winds and decided to shift to the evacuation centres as the wind continued to strengthen.

He added on Sunday the situation got worse around 3 am when they estimated the wind speed to be around 60 to 80 knots which damage lean two house in the village.

The villagers did not attend church service on Sunday and the winds die down around 1pm but it caught them by surprise around 2.30pm when the wind change it direction and came in more strongly.

Cagituivei said the wind picked up on its speed on Sunday night uprooting breadfruit and coconut trees in the village with a few houses left without roofs.

On Monday morning at 4am the strong winds died down but the damage was one of the worst to be experienced by the villagers.

He added they were lucky no one was injured but two of their classrooms are without their roofs and also 2 teachers quarters are badly damage.

On their plantation he says the dalo, banana, cassava and breadfruit are all damage and they will use it for the next two weeks.