Flooding is the leading cause of death during natural disasters in Fiji – Seruiratu

With the Pacific cyclone season starting on November 1st, Minister for Disaster Management Inia Seruiratu is urging all Fijians to be well prepared and stay away from flooded areas during a natural disaster because, in Fiji, flooding continues to be the leading cause of death during a cyclonic event.

Speaking at the launch of the 2022 National Disaster Week at the Laqere Market carpark, Seruiratu says according to the Fiji Police Force, between 2017 to August 2021, 17 people had drowned during an event of natural disasters and the majority of these incidents involve people being swept away by strong currents while trying to cross flooded rivers and creeks.

He says in 2019, the human cost of disasters released by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction states that between 2000-2019, more than 7,000 major disasters impacted all regions of the world, claiming 1.2 million lives and directly impacting 4.2 million lives.

He adds these numbers, demonstrate the importance of promoting a greater understanding of disaster risk and stresses the need for a societal approach so that appropriate measures can be developed together and shared extensively to protect the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.

The Minister says Fijian communities have been on the frontline of the rising seas and strong storms for decades.

Seruiratu says Fijians do not have to learn about these intense climatic events through textbooks because we live through this daily.

He says the experiences have shaped us to become more resilient and stronger people and he is urging all Fijians to continue with this spirit of resilience as we head into the 2022/2023 cyclone season.

The launch was also attended by students from AOG High School, Fiji School of the Blind, Nasinu Secondary School and CMF High School.

The Fiji School for the Blind performed a skit on the theme for this year’s National Disaster Week, “Early Warning and Early Action for All” and also sang two songs, titled: We Are The World and Two Little Stars”.