Floods threaten disaster hit area of Fiji

[senorpepr]

Major floods are hitting an area of Fiji that was devastated two months ago with the loss of 11 lives, weather officials warned.

The Fiji Meteorological Centre issued a flood warning as torrential rain hit the main island of Viti Levu.

Road supervisor Anand Sharma told local radio 100 people were stranded in the township of Korovou and were seeking higher ground.

He said evacuation centres were being prepared.

"We had very bad experience during the last floods and would like to be prepared," he said.

Early in April a series of rainstorms caused major damage in Viti Levu and hundreds of families remain homeless.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1124556.htm

[tropicana]

Flash flood warning issued in Fiji as torrential rains continue

SUVA, Fiji (AP) - Torrential rains that have already forced the evacuation of hundreds of villagers could cause sudden flash flooding on Fiji's main island on Saturday, the South Pacific nation's Meteorological Office warned.

A slow-moving weather system was likely to dump more rain on Viti Levu island following heavy rains Friday, the weather office said.

While flood levels in some rivers dropped overnight, rivers in the east of the island could rise suddenly and without warning, the office said, adding that it expected the heavy rains to continue until Monday

In the small town of Korovou, where flooding forced some 600 residents to leave their homes for shelters on higher ground Friday, the floodwaters have receded, but the district has been left without electricity or clean water.

Residents started to return to the town early Saturday to begin the massive task of cleaning mud and water from their homes and land.

Fiji's Public Works Department said several roads remained closed because of landslides and flooded rivers, adding that the main east coast road connecting Korovou to the capital, Suva, was still too dangerous to use.

Also Friday, mountainous waves battered the coast and damaged roads on the isolated island of Rotuma, 640 kilometers (400 miles) north of Suva, the Public Works Department reported.

Korovou was among scores of villages and towns deluged by water and mud during floods in April that killed 11 people, drove thousands from their homes and devastated thousands of hectares (acres) of food crops. Fiji is still clearing up the millions of dollars of damage from that flood.


-justin-