A State of Emergency in the Western division, 114 evacuation centres, 6,600 evacuees, thousands of homes and families affected, crops damaged, many roads and bridges damaged and no water and power supply in most of the western division.
That is the situation at this stage following the flooding from last Thursday which is still affecting a number of residential areas in Nadi, Ba and Rewa.
Although the Nadi, Ba, Sigatoka and Nausori towns are clear, some may be cleaning up and doing maintenance works for days.
But it is not all over as yet as rain continues in Nadi and another threat is developing that Nadi may get affected during high tide at 7:21 tonight. Another tropical depression will also move into the Fiji group from tomorrow and it is expected to bring similar weather conditions to the one from last Thursday.
The National Disaster Management Office is reminding people that despite the ray of sunshine we saw in the morning around Suva, the flood warning is still in place for the whole of Fiji.
Deputy DISMAC Director, Patiliai Dobui said the news that they are receiving from Nadi is not good and the warning is still in force for the whole of the Western division, the Central division as well as the Northern division.
He advises people in the Western, Northern and Central division to take the weather reports seriously and take precautions.
Make The Right Judgments-DISMAC
Make the right judgments with regards to this weather however please do not start moving to higher ground at night.
This is the advice from Principal DISMAC Officer, Patiliai Dobui who also said people living in low lying areas are the best judges in situations like these.
People living in the low lying areas have been advised to take precautions as more rain is expected from today.
Nadi Weather Office Director, Rajendra Prasad said rain bands are developing again and this is mainly occurring in the western and northern divisions.
Prasad also said that people living near the major rivers in Nadi, Rewa and Ba need to be careful as heavy rainfall up in the highlands can result in the river levels rising again and bursting their banks.
Roads To Nadi Town Opened
Some good news for those motorists who would like to cross Nadi town to reach to their destinations as the roads have been opened to all traffic in the last hour.
Nadi Mayor Timoci Koroiqica said many motorists have crossed Nadi town and the Nadi back road. The security forces are monitoring movements in Nadi town and a curfew will be inplace from this hour. Motorists will only be allowed through the town in emergency cases.
He added the Nadi back road is now open to all traffic.
According to Koroiqica, whole of today the shopkeepers in Nadi were busy cleaning up the mess left behind by the flood and its sad to see there is alot of waste.
A Nadi business man is calling on authorities to restore the supply of water and electricity so that a thorough cleanup campaign can start in the town.
Riyaz Ali said they cannot do anything at this stage to clean up their shops as they do not have water or electricity and he is worried as it will become a health hazard.
We now look at Rewa,
Officials now monitoring the levels at the Rewa River.
Our reporter, Roneel Lal is in the Rewa Delta area.
Flood waters in Koronivia road is slowly receding however situation in Nakaikogo and other villages remain the same
as some areas are still under flood waters.
Our Reporter, Dhanjay Deo has the details from Koronivia.
Flood waters at the Naqali Bridge is receding slowly and the villagers in Naqali have been forced to cater for more than 300 villagers who have been stranded there since last Friday.
Our Reporter, Penijamini Seru is in Naqali.
The interim cabinet will have a meeting tomorrow to get the full extent of damages caused by the recent flooding and the Interim Prime Minister said the interim government will do all it can to reach out to all who have been affected to provide assistance and guidance.
Commodore Frank Bainimarama has also extended his deepest sympathies to people affected by the floods, particularly those who have lost loved ones and have had their property and crops severely damaged. Bainimarama said his heart goes out to the people who have suffered losses of some form or the other.
He has appealed to the affected people to remain calm, establish contacts with government authorities and agencies providing assistance and remain resolute and determined to face the challenges ahead caused by this natural disaster.
In Ba,
Ba Mayor Praveen Bala has confirmed that the District Officer in Ba has told him that the interim government has decided to provide ten water trucks to cart water in Ba area.
Bala hopes this will ease water problem in Ba.
DISMAC Refutes Claims
The DISMAC Western Office has refuted claims that they are not providing food rations to those affected in the Western Division.
Taniela Vocevoce said they have been providing food rations to all evacuation centres in Nadi, Lautoka and Ba, despite the lack of transport to cart the rations to and from the centres. He adds at the moment they only have two trucks which are being used.
Vocevoce also said the number of people in the various evacuation centres in the West has increased. He adds that now 3,780 people are at the evacuation centres.
Right now there are currently 114 Evacuation Centres with 6,626 people occupying them in the Western and Central Division and some sheltering at these centres say they are running out of food or have been without food since Friday.
Principal DISMAC Officer, Patiliai Dobui said people must not expect too much in the form of food as they can only give what they have right now.
Dobui adds once a proper valuation of the situation is carried out then more rations will be given out to the different evacuations centrs.
Meanwhile Dobui is mindful of the high tide which is expected at 7:21 tonight.
The Queens Highway is now open from Suva to Nadi.
Works Ministry Spokesperson, Sainiana Waqainabete confirms that the Kings Highway will remain closed until Wednesday.
Emergency Response Teams Out On Field
There are currently 19 pre-positioned containers around the country containing disaster relief packs ready for immediate distribution.
This has been confirmed Fiji Red Cross Society Disaster Coordinator, Vuli Gauna who said their Emergency Response Teams are currently conducting initial damage assessments in affected areas in the Western and Central Divisions.
Gauna said they are expected to distribute their relief packs tomorrow.
Gauna said people need to prepare the best they can to evacuate if they have to.
He said it is important that the emergency packs people take with them has enough canned food, dry clothes, warm blankets, first aid kits and water to last people two days.
NZ Govt Makes $100,000 Available For Flood Relief
The New Zealand Government has made $100,000 available for flood relief.
In a statement released this afternoon, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said the funding was being made available to the Fijian Red Cross, and further allocations would be made according to the needs of relief agencies working in the flood ravaged areas.
McCully said the money will help ensure they are able to continue to help people if further bad weather hits Fiji.
Labour Leader Phil Goff said the storms are the worst to hit Fiji for many years. He expressed his condolences to the people of Fiji.
He adds that while NZ currently has political difficulties with Fiji, such difficulties do not cross over into the humanitarian area.
Feature
Emergency Situation Continues
