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Fijians and expats are coming together to support those hardest hit by Tropical Cyclone Yasa, as some villages stay behind to pick up the pieces where “100 percent” of the houses have been destroyed.
The Category 5 cyclone ripped through Fiji on Thursday night, wreaking havoc in several villages.
Ninety-three thousand people were in the path of the storm, and those in the northern provinces, especially Vanua Levu, were hit the hardest. ABC Australia reported that four people died, including a three-month-old baby.
Supplied
Devastation caused by Cyclone Yasa in Fiji this week.
The New Zealand High Commissioner in Fiji, Jonathan Curr, said there were reports that some villages had destroyed 80 percent of their homes.
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In others, it was closer to 100 percent, Curr said, speaking with Stuff from Suva, where they were “very lucky” to have been spared the worst part of the storm.
While much of the damage has been to infrastructure, crops, particularly sugarcane, have also suffered “severe” damage.
“People have lost their homes, schools are badly damaged.”
However, the extent of the destruction was still unclear in other parts of Fiji, where “we still do not have adequate communications.”
Relief supplies (shelter tool kits, tarps, tents, chainsaws, water purification tablets, hygiene kits, and solar lights) were on their way to the island nation for distribution, as well as humanitarian relief kits already available, ready to be deployed. .
New Zealand provided an initial package of support, which included a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion surveillance flight that departed Saturday morning, to assess damage in remote areas.
Although the cyclone had degraded and “the worst is over”, the warnings remained on certain islands as the storm moved southeast of the waters of Fiji.
Curr said it is still too early to say how long it will take for Fiji to recover from the consequences of the cyclone.
One of the difficulties facing Fiji has to do with its geography, which makes distributing relief supplies and rebuilding infrastructure a “challenge”.
“There are some [islands] who have not really recovered from [Cyclone] Winston in 2016, ”he said.
“It won’t be quick.”
Adi Wong / Supplied
Cyclone Yasa left destruction in its wake at Daku Elementary School.
Work was being done on the ground to assess what was needed and what could be done quickly to meet these needs, amidst “spotty” communication.
Curr said the Covid-19 pandemic made responding to the “humanitarian emergency” that much more challenging.
“We cannot put boots on the ground from New Zealand due to restrictions and the need for quarantine at both ends.”
NASA via AP
A satellite image released by NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) shows Cyclone Yasa, top right, over Fiji on Tuesday.
The economic impact of the coup on tourism had also affected the Fijian government’s resources and response capacity, Curr said.
“With Tropical Cyclone Harold around Easter time, Tropical Cyclone Yasa just before Christmas and the Covid pandemic, it has been a really difficult year for Fiji.”
Siobhan Sinclair, an Australian expat living in Suva, said everyone in the area was “coming together” to support the areas hardest hit by the cyclone.
Many were searching kitchen cabinets and linen cabinets to find materials to send to Bua province in the north.
They also left cans of food and towels at a stall at the local monthly market held on Sunday, to be sent to those who need them most.
Sinclair, who runs Find Your Feet Fiji, helping expats settle down, said the buildings had been “completely destroyed”, including a newly built school where people were taking refuge.
Andhy Blake, a Fijian television producer who lived in Christchurch for 13 years, said the cyclone was “much stronger” than Cyclone Winston four years ago, which killed 44 people.
Blake, who lives in Nausori on Viti Levu, about 20 minutes from Suva, said they were lucky not to have been in the path of the cyclone, but the same did not happen with many others.
Fiji Police Force / Supplied
The streets were flooded when the cyclone struck parts of Fiji.
Blake’s family in Bua province had part of their home “ripped off” when the cyclone ripped through the islands, estimating that they had lost some 50,000 Fijian dollars on root crops and vegetables.
On Saturday there were very few products in the local market and the prices of those available had increased.
Despite the widespread devastation, people’s spirits remained “really high.”
“There are still those big smiles and greetings from Bula. Fijians are very tough people.”
