Families move to higher ground as flooding hits Naqiliso settlement

Families living in the informal settlement of Naqiliso in Davuilevu Housing, Nausori are moving to higher ground as heavy rain and drainage issues have resulted in many homes being flooded.

Resident Neha Subhag says there is about three feet of water inside her home, while other areas are experiencing even higher water levels.

She says she is sitting at a car wash opposite the settlement with her baby, waiting for her husband to return from work.

Subhag claims the Fiji Corrections Service is developing land beside the settlement but has not installed culverts to manage water flow.

This is an ongoing issue, with the Corrections Service previously stating that the land belongs to the State under the Ministry of Lands.

The Service maintains that the flooding was not caused by blocked drains but by rubbish within the settlement.

It also says the Fiji Roads Authority will work with the Lands Department regarding a 50-metre Government Roads Reserve area nearby, where some homes are currently built, describing this as part of a longer-term solution.

Corrections officials say contractors had offered to construct a new culvert to ease floodwaters.

However, they claim the work cannot proceed properly because some homes and bathroom pipes are encroaching onto Fiji Corrections Service land.

Further questions have been sent to the Minister for Lands, Filimoni Vosarogo.

Meanwhile, Mataika Street resident Shalvin Narayan says their homes are also flooded during heavy rain.

He says the water level is rising and he is heading home early to ensure the safety of his family and property.

Narayan says his rental flat is already flooded.

He has raised concerns that blocked drains and culverts are contributing to the flooding.

Narayan says rainwater from recently developed subdivision washes downhill, but because of blocked drains and culverts, the creek beside his home rises quickly.

He adds that as ratepayers, they have raised the issue several times with the Nausori Town Council, but no action has been taken.

Narayan says the council must act now before serious harm comes to the many children who travel to and from school in the area.

Nausori Town Council has yet to respond to questions by fijivillage News.