Hundreds of residents, vendors and workers living in Urata and Boubale in Bulileka, Labasa were left stranded over the last two days due to the heavy rainfall and flash flooding.

The floodwaters washed away the approaches to the low-level crossings, cutting off access across the river.

Urata resident Ashish Pratap says they live in a low-lying area, so even when there is minimal rainfall, the crossing gets flooded.

As a result, Pratap, a taxi driver in Labasa Town, says he has lost out on two days of income.

“We have over 300 people staying here. At the moment, we don’t have any other sorts of crossing here. We are only dependent on this bridge. “

At Boubale, the story is the same.

Resident and Labasa businessman Dev Anand says their return to work will depend on the fixing of the washed-out approach at the Boubale Crossing.

Anand says due to the washout, there was no bus service to the area, resulting in many residents not making it to work.

“No work today. I couldn’t come out. The water has receded but part of the bridge has been washed away but has not been repaired. “

Elsewhere, there were broken road links and many crossings with standing water.

Fiji Road Authority Chief Executive Officer Kamal Prasad says they have been monitoring the rivers and roads and they are waiting for floodwaters to recede before they continue with their damage assessment.

Once the floodwaters clear, there will be a round-the-clock push by the Fiji Roads Authority to repair all the damage sustained.