Reddy Deploys Technical Staff, Resources

The Ministry of Waterways has advised members of the public that it has deployed teams of technical staff and resources to assist in the clearing of waterways and drains of silt and debris.

Fiji naturally has wet zones, which are mostly located in the southeast region and are prone to experience heavy rains and flooding.

During the recent flooding last week, three days of heavy rain in the towns of Navua, Sigatoka, Nadi, Lautoka, Ba, Rakiraki and Tavua caused flooding and there were six casualities reported and one still missing. Minister for Waterways Mahendra Reddy in a press statement said engineers had completed the flood assessment of damage caused by Category 1 Tropical Cyclone

The first and second day of scoping works in the Western Division flood prone areas have been concluded and contracts for works have been assigned.

The Ministry of Waterways team from Suva will return today and any other works will be handled by westbased staff. Contractors will start deploying their machines from today.

Excessive rainfall over the last few days had caused the river to exceed its capacity.

The damage from a river flood can be widespread as the overflow affects smaller rivers downstream, often causing drainage to overflow. The ministry will work on a long term flood mitigation plan to lessen the impact of the flooding in severe weather events.

Mr Reddy said his team is committed in undertaking flood mitigation, dredging in rivers and waterways to control flooding in severe weather events.

Additionally, the ministry has deployed a team to clear waterways of debris from Sigatoka to RakiRaki. Members of the community may lodge their request with our Lautoka Waterways office phone contact: 891 6944/ 666 1387.