Heartbreaking
Norman Yee, Nadi
It was heart- breaking to listen and see stories of death and destruction from the news media regarding the onslaught of Tropical Cyclone Winston.
It was sad to think that some of these deaths could have been avoided had the people listened to the warnings: move to higher ground, seek shelter, etc. I suppose no one could sense what the effects of a Category Five storm could do to humans and to property. Roofs and walls would collapse and empty steel containers could fly.
These are very bitter lessons to learn the hard way. May we never forget.
Now that the Government has called for tenders for rebuilding rural housing it is obvious these needed to be of a high standard. Some examples are already touted as being robust to meet 400 km/h winds. It seems that if the present Engineers’ Standards are up to Category Four than some thought needs to be given to raising the standard to Category Five or higher. Experts believe since due to global warming there are likely to be more frequent and stronger cyclones in the future.
For rural areas, if these standards are too high to be implemented, then Disaster Management organisations should insist there must be at least one building, e.g. the church, to meet these standards and built on higher ground (due to storm surges) where people can move to with their belongings prior to the arrival of the storm.
There are too many stories of people moving out at the height of the storm when their houses have collapsed. It is noted sadly that flimsily built dwellings while for the most part provided shelter during normal conditions become death traps in a cyclone.
For people in informal settlements there are evacuation centres nearby (built to high standard) that are available for people to move into again prior to the arrival of the storm.
Thanks to the Government bodies, NGOs and individual organisations that rushed and provide much-needed funds and aid.
Grateful to Legend FM for providing unbroken coverage throughout the storm.
As for Fiji Meteorological Office and Na Draki our appreciation for the superb tracking of the cyclone. Even when it was at its worst we were able to access your latest weather through Vodafone and other communications system that stayed with us throughout.
And to the Fiji Electricity Authority, Water Authority of Fiji, Fiji Roads Authority, etc, working tirelessly to restore services our grateful thanks!
QVS relocation
Joji O. Toronibau, Labasa
Now, I vouch for Tagi Vonolagi’s wisdom to move QVS students and staff to Laucala Bay Secondary School for the time being.
Floreat Viti!!