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On Thursday 8 January it
began to rain in the Western District of Fiji. Not just ordinary
rain but torrential rain that continued for three days, dumping
more than 700 mm (27 inches) of water on the towns of Nadi and
Ba and on the highlands catchment areas. The resulting flood has
been described as Fiji’s worst-ever natural disaster. Every
stream became a river and rivers became uncontrollable torrents
that quickly overflowed their banks and rampaged through
communities, destroying crops, homes, bridges and roads.
Stories abound of the horror and heroism of those three days.
And just when things seemed at their worst, yet another storm
system moved through the region causing further flooding
although not to the extent at first predicted.
In Nadi, floodwaters went through the main shopping area and
into several villages. Some people were stranded on their
rooftops for two days waiting for the waters to go down. The
Salvation Army hall at Nadi was not flooded and was quickly put
to use as an evacuation centre for more than 100 people from the
immediate area. Captains Jeremaia and Amelia Naviko and their
corps members, some of whom had had their own homes flooded,
sprang into action to provide food for the wet and tired
evacuees, including one pregnant woman who gave birth at the
height of the flood and was housed in as much comfort as
possible in a storeroom at the hall.
Captain Jeremaia, a burly former policeman, helped rescue a
number of people from the rising floodwaters in their homes. In
some houses the water reached the ceiling and the streets were
flowing with fast-moving floodwater and debris.
Following the flood, as people returned to their homes to see
what was left and what could be salvaged, Captain Jeremaia
formed teams, armed with brooms and shovels and a waterblaster,
to clean up houses. The divisional leaders met the team at one
house in a street where the water level had reached more than
two metres. Every item from the home was in a sodden filthy pile
on the front lawn. Nothing was salvageable. A large television
sat in a deep pool of mud. Mattresses and bedding were saturated
and useless. The owner of the house, father of four children,
had suffered a double blow with the death of his wife from
cancer only a couple of hours before. Captain Jeremaia was
bringing as much comfort and support as he could to the family
and others in the street.
In Ba, the Salvation Army hall and officer quarters are located
close to the Ba River, which burst its banks three times during
the week, sending torrents of water through the corps hall.
Fortunately, the hall is a two-storey structure. Upstairs is the
main hall and offices, while downstairs there is an open area
for the kindergarten and Sunday school as well as storerooms and
toilet facilities. The downstairs was totally submerged and
amazingly the depth of water meant that several inches of water
flowed through the upstairs hall and offices as well. The
two-storied officer quarters had its ground floor completely
submerged. When the waters receded a thick blanket of smelly mud
was left behind. The town water supply is not expected to be
restored for two months, which makes cleaning up doubly
difficult as well as posing health issues.
Corps officers Captains Vilikesa and Sesenieli Bogi watched the
rising waters from upstairs at their home, and Captain Vilikesa
set out to assist their neighbours. One man was in his house
drinking and asked Captain Vilikesa to leave him to die, but was
persuaded to abandon his house and take refuge upstairs at the
Bogis’ house. Captain Bogi had to break down the front door of
another house to rescue some women who were also reluctant to
leave their home.
Lautoka Corps was not affected by flooding, but more than 50
people in the neighbourhood had to abandon their homes and take
refuge at the Army hall. Food was scarce but corps officers
Captains Lasarusa and Limaina Turaga, along with social services
officer Captain Ulamila Vakawaletabua and corps members, managed
to provide meals for the people over a period of several days.
One person walked 15 kilometres to Lautoka Corps to receive
emergency food supplies.
The Tavua Corps Plant has limited facilities to provide shelter
but corps officers Captains Sevanaia and Vakatoto Wawa – with
funds provided by Divisional Headquarters – were able to provide
emergency food packs for 100 families sheltering at the local
school. Up to 700 people were staying at the school; food
supplies were virtually non-existent and there were serious
health issues because of the overcrowding.
Days after Fiji’s worst-ever natural disaster, people are
returning to their homes to pick up the pieces of their
shattered lives. The task of cleaning up and rebuilding has only
just begun and The Salvation Army is already receiving many
requests for assistance with basic food items, household goods,
and bedding. As parents struggle to send their children back to
school for the year, numerous requests are coming in for
assistance with the cost of school fees.
The Salvation Army Fiji Division is very grateful to some
generous business donors, including Westpac Bank, the Colonial
group of companies, DHL and Howards Lawyers as well as personal
donors. This has been a terrible disaster for the small island
nation and it will take months to begin to recover, but
Salvationists continue to affirm: ‘God is good – all the time;
all the time – God is good.’
The Salvation Army's New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory has
launched a flood relief appeal for Fiji. To make a donation
online, go to
www.salvationarmyusa.org
and specify Fiji Flood Relief.
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