7:30pm – 29 December 2019
CASUALITY
- The body of a man in his late 40’s has been recovered from Naivucini waters in Naitasiri this morning.
- It is believed the victim was swept away by strong currents whilst crossing the river yesterday.
- A search was conducted by villagers with the help of the Fiji Police officers from Vunidawa Police Station.
- A post mortem will be conducted to ascertain the cause of death while investigations continue.
- This brings the death toll relating to TC Sarai to two.
WEATHER UPDATE
- After the brief by Director Met Services this morning, Tropical Cyclone Sarai is further moving South East and is slowly exiting Kadavu.
- For Nabukelevu-i-ra, we have seen that the waves is gradually decreasing from 4.9 meters last night to about 3.5 meters this morning. The normal wave height around the Nabukelevu-i-Ra is around 2.5 metres.
- Our focus now is to advising the Southern Lau Group to be prepared as we are expecting TC Sarai to go pass through South of Vatoa and north of Ono-i-Lau within the next 30 hours.
- We want to advice those living in low lying areas to remain cautious as flood warning remains in force for low lying areas and areas downstream of Navolau station in the Rewa River, downstream of Nayavu station in the Wainibuka river; Downstrream of Ba FC station in the Ba river and downstream of Nairukuruku station in the Wainimala river.
EVACUATION CENTER UPDATE
- A total of fifty four (54) Evacuation Centres (EC) are active around the country with 2,001 evacuees across the four divisions.
- We are working with the Ministry of Health to do the initial assessment for affected areas before we give the green light for families to go back to their homes.
- On that note we will start working on coordinating the food rations into Evacuation Centers.
EFL
- Some areas have their powers restored but the EFL Cyclone Action Plan clearly identifies that areas for power restoration includes Hospitals & Major Health Centres, Water & Sewerage Treatment Plants, Towns, Cities & Industrial Areas and then Residential Areas.
WAF
- With EFL power slowly being restored, time will be required for the affected systems to normalise and reach healthy levels.
- Operation teams will be mobilising to assess and work on Water and Waste water assets.
- For any queries for Water please call 5777 or 336 4777.
MSAF
- With the Weather Office still maintaining a strong wind warning, Restrictions is still in place for the Fiji Waters as of the Advisory on Friday morning.
- Currently, Ships are anchored at Natovi, Savusavu, Nadi, Lautoka and Suva harbors awaiting clearance.
FRA
- Both Queens Road and Kings Road are open
- Jetty Road in Kadavu is closed due to a landslide.
- Several roads are being monitored for closure and we will continue to issue alerts and warnings as required.
- Please do not drive into water of unknown depth and current as this can be life threatening.
- We are urging the public to please take all the necessary precautions and adhere to the advisories from relevant authorities.
FIJI AIRWAYS
- Following weather and operational assessments, Fiji Airways and Fiji Link are happy to announce the resumption of most services from today (Sunday December 29, 2019).
- Both airlines will rebook guests whose flights had been cancelled on the next available service.
- Some supplementary services will be scheduled to cater for some of the cancellations. Affected guests will receive their new flight details once these are confirmed. Guests are requested to ensure that their email address is included in their booking details.
- Flights to/from Kadavu remain cancelled.
OPERATIONAL FOCUS FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS
- Public safety paramount.
- NEOC to continue tracking and monitoring movement of TC Sarai, and with assistance of first responders ensure public safety.
- Restoration of essential services.
- Monitor reports of flooding and issue timely evacuation notifications.
- Assist and monitor the evacuation of vulnerable communities to evacuation centers and to safe areas.
- Coordination of humanitarian assistance to affected communities.
- Public advisories issued on mainstream and social media.
- Coordination of resources with Divisional DISMACs for optimum response.
- Forward planning for damage assessments
- NEOC to continue tracking and monitoring movement of TC Sarai, and with assistance of first responders ensure public safety.
- Restoration of basic services is currently a priority.
- NEOC will monitor reports of flooding and issue timely evacuation notifications.
