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National | Fiji

Survey data to benefit Fiji post Cyclone Winston

Coastal hazard experts from the Pacific Community (SPC) have surveyed wind and wave damage from tropical cyclone Winston in more than 40 communities across the provinces of Bua, Cakaudrove, and Lomaiviti in Fiji.

The surveys have produced detailed data that will have immediate and long-term benefits for Fiji and the region.

They assessed building damage, the status of water and sanitation, and the extent of coastal inundation on the island of Ovalau and the southern coast of Vanua Levu.

In Ovalau, the highest recorded wave run-up was more than seven metres high at the Ovalau Holiday Resort – almost as tall as a three-story building.

The worst affected areas of Vanua Levu were in the Kubulau District of Bua and along the coast from Savusavu to Naweni, where the wave run-up reached five meters in the village of Nukubalavu, and the maximum inundation extent recorded was 183 metres inland in Tacilevu Village.

Building and water system characteristics were also analysed to determine the cause of damage (wind, wave or both) and to highlight the key features of structures that withstood the storm.

SPC Deputy Director-General, Dr Audrey Aumua says, “This is the most comprehensive building damage data set that exists for any cyclone in the Pacific to date.

It will be used as a regional baseline for future damage assessments and to better predict inundation and wind impact on buildings.”

Provincial Administrators are already applying SPC’s assessment results to guide their ongoing response to the most affected communities in their districts.

Dr Aumua says, “In the short term, the data will be used to produce hazard maps that will feed directly into the Fiji government-led post-disaster needs assessment.

In the long term, we gain a better understanding of the impacts of events like this, including informing how can we build back safer and stronger, and improve future coastal planning to minimise disaster impacts.”