Super cyclone Evan targeting Fiji
Weather
forecasters are predicting that super cyclone Evan will hit New
Zealand's Northland and Auckland area toward the end of the week.
16
December, 2012
Evan
powered across two small Pacific islands this morning home to 15,000
after wrecking havoc to Samoa and now targeting Fiji.
Samoa,
which was savaged by the storm on Thursday night have four confirmed
dead and eight people missing.
Maritime
New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre says a Royal New Zealand Air
Force P3 Orion has sighted wreckage of a fishing boat, one of three
they are looking for which held up to eight men.
It
is washed up on the small volcanic island of Apolima, between Upolu
and Savai'i but there is no sign of the crew.
Mission
coordinator Tracy Brickles says a 30-year-old skipper of one of the
boats has been found alive on nearby Monono Island.
She
said he had yet to be spoken to by Samoan Police but is believed to
have clung to flotsam after the boat tipped over some time on Friday.
The
missing boats are all ali'a or twin-hulled nine metre boats fitted
with outboards.
A
tug is heading to the area form Apia but seas are still rough.
The
Orion crew have now landed at Faleolo and will later be relieved on
the search area by a French Navy Guardian aircraft from Tahiti.
Evan
is now moving south west toward Fiji and earlier this morning
intensified into a category four storm, meaning conditions are
extreme with average winds of 210 and up to 250 kph.
The
upgrade came as Evan was on top of Wallis Island, part of the French
territory of Wallis and Futuna.
The
islands, the only kingdoms within the Republic of France, are now
completely cut off.
Authorities
there usually take down satellite dishes as cyclones pass over.
Fiji's
military regime has mobilised its large army ahead of Evan's arrival
off the north eastern end of Vanua Levu. Track prediction charts have
so far kept the eye of the storm out to sea but in the last 12 hours
predictions have it much closer to land.
It
will sweep down the northern coasts of Vanua Levu and Viti Levu and
pound into the major tourist centres around Nadi and in the Yasawa
and Mamanucas islands. The cities and towns of Labasa, Ba, Lautoka
and Nadi are likely to be hit hardest.
The
worst of the storm is likely to hit early Monday morning.
Senior
Weather Forcaster Misaele Funaki says heavy rain currently fell in
the north eastern part of Fiji and wind will pick up.
"We
should be prepared for the winds to increase from later today,"
he told state radio.
Dozens
of evacuation centres have been set up around the country.
The
Fiji Meteorological Service is warning of five metre surges.
"This
can be made worse by high tide," it says.
"A
Catagory 4 syclone can result in roofing failures (roofs blown away)
as well as extensive damage to doors and windows. Low lying escape
routes may be cut off. Major damage to lower floors of buildings near
the coast can be expected.
"Land
near the coast that is lower than three meters above sea level may be
flooded."
Fiji's
military leader Voreqe Bainimarama has already warned the storm is a
"impending disaster" and urged its people to take it
serious.
Meanwhile
in Samoa a National Disaster Council under Prime Minister Tuilaepa
Sailele says over 3200 people have been displaced as their homes were
destroyed mainly by heavy flooding.
Many
of those displaced are from Lelata, Ma'agao, Leone, Faatoia and
Matautu area. Their homes were affected by the heavy flooding of the
Vaisigano River.
The
Commissioner of Police, Lilomaiava Fou Taioalo reported that four
people are confirmed dead due to the cyclone, with eight people
missing - including five fishermen reportedly missing at sea.
One
fisherman, cast adrift, managed to swim to the coast at Salelologa
and was saved.
The
New Zealand government has approved $50,000 as well as offering
aerial survey support, the United States US$50,000 through the Red
Cross Society and a grant of US$50,000 from the United Nations
Development Program as well as technical assistance in damage
assessments.
In
an unusual speech to the nation, Tuilaepa told the largely Christian
state that there was a time for every season, and that God balances
all things.
"The
most poignant concerns that are distressing world leaders at the
moment are the disastrous changing weather patterns that will allow
the occurrences of cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes, flooding and
other disasters, which all emanates from man abusing the garden that
God appointed him to tend, such as the mindless cutting of trees
excessively warming the environment resulting in disasters not often
experienced before," he said.
He
said deforestation near rivers and streams led to Samoa's disaster.
"Likewise
the extreme deforestation near rivers and streams which,
consequently, now results in the loss of lives and the destruction of
homes nearby due to flash floodings."
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