FIJI: Tropical Cyclone Yasa aftermath
“My fellow Fijians .. the storm is passing, the sun has risen and we are still here…” Fijian PM Frank Bainimarama
Three fatalities have been confirmed in Fiji as a result of yesterday’s Cyclone - a 45yr old man near Labasa, a 67yr old man near Yadua and a three-month-old baby from Narua Settlement. Fatalities are sadly expected to rise.
Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama says Fiji will recover, rebuild and once again prevail following the ‘assault’ caused by Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Yasa that tore through the island nation in the past 48 hours.
“Due to climate change these storms may be getting stronger but they will never be stronger than we are..”, encouraged Banimarama who was seen visiting rural communities in most affected areas of the storm immediately after it had passed.
Super-cyclone Yasa’s assault on Fiji began in the Yasawas yesterday afternoon. The storm made landfall as a category five system last night in the Bua Province of Vanua Levu with wind speeds up to 345 kilometres per hour. It tore across Vanua Levu through the night, exiting Sawani, and then sweeping across the central Lau group. Its strength has dropped to category three and it is currently heading southeast.
After an eastward shift from its original path, just over 93,000 Fijians found themselves in the direct path of the storm.
“We have about 24,000 Fijians in evacuation centres across Fiji, we will keep these centres open as long as necessary. Our police and disciplined forces will be monitoring all homes in affected areas. The dust not yet settled, and we will continue to assess the scale of damages in the coming days, but we are likely looking at hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
In the meantime, our operational focus for the next 24 hours is on maintaining public safety, clearing roads, restoring critical infrastructure and services, re-establishing communication with severely affected areas, and coordinating support from our development partners.
We have allowed public transportation to resume. From today, the curfew hours will be from 5pm to 6am in the Northern Division, and from 8pm to 5am throughout the rest of Fiji as families return to their homes from evacuation centres.
From tomorrow, the curfew hours will revert to 11pm to 4am nationwide.
Our police officers, WAF technicians, EFL line workers, disaster officials, RFMF and Fijian Navy personnel, and other frontline staff have worked tirelessly through the night and this morning to aid affected communities. All they ask for in return is your patience and cooperation. Please adhere to their advice: Stay sheltered, stay out of floodwaters, and stay alert.
"If you are impacted: Help is on the way. Rest assured, we will reach you with relief. We are mobilising every resource available to respond in areas severely affected by this most recent super-cyclone.” says Prime Minister Bainimarama