Situation update

In Lautoka

Police have recovered the body of a 31 year old man from Drasa Johnson Road in the last hour.

Permanent Secretary for Information, Sharon Smith-Johns said the body is yet to be identified.

The total number of bodies found after the floods now stand at 4.

Late yesterday a man’s body was found in a river in Nadi.

In Nadi

Nadi businessman, Riyaz Ali has now been assured the Police will take action in relation to the reports of looting and thefts in Nadi town.

Ali said they need assistance as they do not have insurance cover for floods.

The one year old child who was rescued by the police team last week from Navakai, Nadi is now in good health.

A relative Mufti Zain said the child slept for two days and is now well.

The child along with her parents were stuck on their rooftop in Qeleloa, Nadi for more than seven hours on Friday.

Zain said that the family has now moved to Mulomulo.

She was rescued by police after Fijivillage informed them about the girl and her family’s plea for help on Friday night.

“I am concerned about the livelihood of the 624 farmers in Sabeto.”

Those are the words of desperation from 63-year-old Bissun Datt the Advisory Councilor of Sabeto.

Datt said this flood is the worst so far after 40-50 farm houses including sugarcane farms were underwater and damaged by the swift currents.

Datt said the farmers are now disturbed as they do not know what to expect next.

In Nausori

Residents in RC Sharma road in Waila Nausori are concerned that flood waters are receding very slowly as water entered about 25 houses earlier today.

Jitendra Singh said residents are taking shelter on high ground.

Koronivia resident, Dhanjay Deo says people are preparing for nightfall as flood waters are receding very slowly.

Saimun Nisha said that water has receded in Talaiya however she can see silt and debris everywhere.

She said she is cleaning the dishes and clothes and will leave the house again before night fall.

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Nisha said that close to 10 families in the area have lost all their groceries and are hoping to get some assistance from government officials as the road to her area is open.

Residents of Lokia are preparing to secure their property and move to high ground as the water level rising.

Roneel Narayan is currently in Lokia.

It has started raining heavily in Baulevu and flood waters are rising at Baulevu landing.

A resident Josateki Koto they are using a small boat to go to a shop to buy batteries.

He said all the farms have been severely affected and all root crops and other vegetables which was their source of income re destroyed.

He said five families have already moved to higher ground while one house is submerged in flood waters and they are trying to get in touch with the owner of the house.

Meanwhile, flood waters have reached up to three feet in the Naitasiri Primary School ground.

A resident Avinash Chand said residents fear that if the water level rises to more than four feet during high tide this afternoon, flood waters will enter the school building.

Chand said the road is still closed to all traffic due to two feet of flood waters.

He said families around his area have taken their cows to high ground.

Meanwhile, Lokia area is still flooded and many families are now taking shelter at nearby evacuation centre.

A resident Roneel Narayan said this flood is the worst compared to the previous floods he has experienced.

He said Lokia road is still flooded and with high tide this afternoon, it could make the situation worse.

It is currently raining heavily in Toge, Ba and strong winds are also being experienced.

A resident, Yaad Ram said it has been raining heavily for the past 1 hour and around 30 houses in their neighborhood who had suffered from flooding on Friday are still at evacuation centers.

Ram said the flood waters have receded but with the weather getting worse and evening approaching people prefer to stay in evacuation centers

Meanwhile Advisory Councillor Moto, Arun Sharma says around 30% of 130,000 tonnes of cane in the Moto and Naloko areas are damaged due to the flood waters and strong winds.

He said he toured the whole area and he can feel how badly the cane farmers will suffer this time around.

Almost 29 residents of Elevuka Ba have lost almost all their belongings and are currently in their muddy homes without water and electricity.

A resident said most of their belongings are gone.

She said when flood waters started rising on Friday night most of the families left their houses and moved to Varadoli Ba.

Later in the night they received calls of people breaking into their houses and taking their things.    

In Ba town there is still no water and electricity.

Ba residents are crowding the shops this hour to stock up on food supplies.

With forecasters predicting the possibility of a tropical cyclone Vinay Prasad of Vutuni said most are shopping now for canned food and basic food items.

According to Prasad, with no buses running at the moment he had to walk about 6 kilometers to do his shopping.

Nothing can be recovered said Courts Chief Operating Officer Hamendra Prasad.

Their store is located in the market area and is one of the hardest hit in Ba.

He said 7 to 8 feet of water entered their store and the sudden flood left them with no time to save any goods.

Still on Ba, Namosau Bridge is now open and accessible to traffic.

Special Administrator Ba Arun Prasad said flood waters have completely receded in Ba Town and the bus stand areas however around 2 feet flood of waters remain at the Ba market area.

He said after making a round near the Wailailai areas in the last hour the cane fields there are still under 3 feet of flood waters.
 
The road to Maururu dump has been damaged again and Prasad said with the cleaning up underway, the council is trying to fix a temporary way to access the dump.

In Sigatoka, most of the shops are still closed.

Speaking to Fijivillage this morning, Sitiveni Kunaika who is in Sigatoka town at the moment said that flood waters have caused a lot of damage to houses and shops in the low lying areas.