Safety concerns have slowed on-the-ground surveys in Fiji’s Western Division even as initial damage assessments (IDA) for Tropical Cyclone Vaianu move forward, Divisional Commissioner West Apolosi Lewaqai said on Wednesday. While communications with the previously cut-off Yasawa islands were re-established early Wednesday, plans to send teams to affected outer islands have been temporarily shelved because sea conditions remain unsafe.
Lewaqai told reporters that teams had been attempting to contact communities from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, with help from local leaders and agencies including the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) and the Fiji Police. The offices successfully reached gatekeepers in three tikina — Naviti, Viwa and tikina Yasawa — who have been feeding situational updates back to the divisional office. “Our roko tui, Turaga ni koro and Mata ni tikina are supplying us with information,” he said.
Although most mainland roads are accessible, some locations still require four-wheel-drive vehicles, the commissioner said. The Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) is working to restore full access to hospitals and supermarkets in areas still cut off by flooding or debris. Maritime access, however, remains the critical safety constraint: Lewaqai reported winds of about 20 to 25 knots and a “backwater” effect producing medium to high waves, conditions that MSAF and the Fiji Meteorological Service advised made sea travel unsafe for assessment teams.
Yesterday marked the final day of the IDA period, and teams are now being mobilised to verify reported impacts on infrastructure, households and farms, Lewaqai said. The divisional office is coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and other sectors to compile detailed reports that will produce the “exact figure” of losses once verification is complete. He noted accessibility and flooding remain the main challenges preventing officers from reaching some communities to complete their assessments.
Parallel to verification work, the divisional office is finalising lists of affected families so distributions of food rations and non-food items can begin as soon as it is safe to do so. Lewaqai stressed that all movements and relief operations are being planned in line with official weather and maritime advice to avoid putting assessment teams or residents at further risk.
This update follows a communications blackout during the cyclone that left several island communities temporarily isolated. With gatekeepers now reporting in and roads gradually being cleared, authorities say the next phase will focus on physical verification of damage and rolling out immediate relief — but only when sea and weather forecasts permit safe deployment to outer islands.
Leave a comment