Natural Disaster

Part of Wailotua village underwater

January 10, 2022 12:20 pm

Parts of Wailotua No.1 Village are currently inundated with floodwaters.

This comes after the Wainibuka River bursts its bank early this morning.

Villager, Veremo Muria says villagers who are residing in low-lying areas have moved to a few houses uphill that usually accommodate affected villagers in times of flooding.

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[Photo: Supplied]

He adds the water level continues to rise due to the heavy rain experienced last night and about 15 houses are currently affected by floodwaters including the church.

“At the moment Wailotua Village is currently underwater, including the main road in front of the village. The water at the moment is currently rising slowly, maybe the high tide will affect the water level this afternoon.”


[Photo: Supplied]

Muria says the community disaster response team is putting the hard yards to ensure the safety of villagers.

“We have the Red-Cross Community response team and at the moment, they are activating the evacuation plan. The villagers are currently moving to the houses that are on top of the hill, away from the flooded waters. At the moment, everyone is safe as we have activated our evacuation plan from yesterday.”


[Photo: Supplied]

Wailotu No. 2 Village Headman, Laisenia Nawaitabu says about 20 villagers are currently being evacuated to the church.

He says the rapidly rising water levels flooded the route to the school, prompting them to be evacuated in church.


[Photo: Supplied]

Meanwhile, the Fiji Meteorological Office says the heavy rain warning remains in force for the group that will cause severe flooding in low-lying and flood prone areas.


[Photo: Supplied]