Serious flooding in western Viti Levu

There is currently serious flooding in western Viti Levu. It is more serious than that which occurred in January.
Most flights in and out of Nadi are cancelled.
Queens Road and Kings Road have been or are cut in many places between Raki Raki and Sigatoka.
There are currently 2,500 people in evacuation centres in the Western Division.
There are several confirmed deaths and others reported washed away in flood waters.

Authorities are warning that flooding will increase to even more serious levels late tonight to coincide with the high tide and heavy rain continues to fall, especially in the highlands.

Cheers,
Peter

Peter & Margaret, Deja Vu all over again. Looks like the outer bands of a cyclone near Vanuatu will
bring more rain tomorrow. I'm sure you're looking forward to the end of this season. Keep safe.
-Ken

Thanks Ken. We are safe and dry, but many locals are not.

The Nadi River has burst its banks this morning and the town appears to be cut off.
There is 5 - 6 feet of water in the town.

Ba town is under 6 feet of water. 4 feet in the bus station.

Cheers,
Peter

They are now forecasting that one of the tropical lows in the area is likely to develop into a cyclone.

Cheers,
Peter

My family and I are due to holiday in Sigatoka and Malolo Island in 10 days time, hopefully the rain and storms would have stopped and things up and running. I know Fijians depend heavily on tourist dollars and we don't want to cancel. What is your opinion Peter_n_Margaret. ?
ps...stay safe and well

Hi Steve.
I rang Mango Bay (6530069).
They are unaffected by the floods. The road between there and Nadi airport is now open.
I left a message that Steve had enquired after Tim (H) and Celeste. The receptionist seemed to know who I was talking about and said everything is fine.
There are no telephones in the rooms, so if you wished to speak to them they would have to find them so you could call back when they were in the dining area.

Note that there is a major power line down down south somewhere and there are rolling blackouts to areas down there (including Suva).

Rest easy :-)

Cheers,
Peter

Edited by: Peter_n_Margaret

Many many thanks for your prompt feedback-it has appeased our worried hearts :-) from Therese-Steve's wife.

Water and power supplies have been reestablished in Nadi and the town will open for business again tomorrow.

The number of people in 180 evacuation centres exceeded 12,000. The number of centres catering for people is now about 80.
Many people have lost everything. Others faced 6 or 9 inches of mud through their homes.
There are local events raising money to assist those affected.

Cheers,
Peter

I have a stopover in Fiji and was going to extend it to a 5-6 day trip (first week of May) to one of the Yasawa Islands. Is it an ok time for tourists to visit or are we better off staying away? I know Fiji relies heavily on tourism but my mum told me she saw a Fijian lady on the news telling tourists not to visit as they didn't have enough food for themselves let alone tourists.
Thanks.

Don't trust the media reports.
Fiji needs tourists and the resorts are open for business.
There is plenty of food in Fiji too, although some local people who have lost everything are struggling to pay for what they need. Your visit will give at least one family enough to eat for a month as a direct result of the extra work.

I expect that the weather will be superb in May. It is beautiul now.

Cheers,
Peter

We are due there the end of next week. We are staying at Beqa Lagoon for several days of diving. Any news or concerns about this area? Will the diving be affected? I would appreciate any information. Thank you, Tanya

Tanya, there is no question that the flooding in Viti Levu has affected visibility in the area.
I don't have any specific information about Beqa, but the fact that it is some distance away and is a small island suggests it will be less affected.

Cheers,
Peter

Hi peter
Thanks for your info re the flooding.
I'm due to fly to Fiji on 20th April. I will be going to Nadi and yasawas. Are these areas still affected by the flooding? What is the weather like there at the moment? The weather reports show rain for the next week. I would like to visit Fiji and bring tourist money to help the area but as a lone young traveller I'm worried about future flooding and the risk of disease.
Thanks

Weather is still a bit variable. Saturday it rained most of the day, but generally it is an hour or two max. in the late afternoon. Last week was glorious. The Yasawas typicically get less rain than western Viti Levu.

We have not been into Nadi since the floods, but I understand that there are still quite a few shops that have not reopend. The water left behind several inches of mud. There is still debri about and some road damage too.
Apart from sand moving about, the Yasawas would be generally unaffected.

Beachcomber had all their sand move from one side of the island to the other and they have just spent $20,000 to put it all back.

Cheers,
Peter