Falling Boulder Misses Pedestrian by Seconds
It was a lucky escape for a man walking along Rewa Street in Suva yesterday morning as a boulder fell from the side of a soapstone wall.
The man had just walked past the house when the rock slide happened.
The man, who identified himself as Jiuta Baptist, said he was lucky.
He said, “Had I been two seconds late, a big rock would have landed on me.”
Apart from that, a large chunk from the soap stone wall, landed on the vehicle lane closest to the footpath.
This happened around 7.20am. It was also unfortunate for a vehicle owner as mud and rock fell on his vehicle.
Fiji Roads Authority chief executive officer Jonathan Moore said the landslide was cleared in the morning.
“When a landslide affects a highway, the FRA will take action to clear the way for traffic in a safe and useable condition in ensuring minimal disruption to traffic and pedestrian movement,” Mr Moore said.
“In this case, the FRA cleared the fallen debris and made the road safe, but it is the duty of the landowner to manage the land
that contributed to the slide.
“It is not the responsibility of the FRA to take on its proactive management of landslide zones that are in land owned by others. “The FRA is willing to provide relevant information and advice where it can and has such details available, but the ultimate responsibility rests with the owner of the property.”
The landslide was caused by the heavy rain in the Central Division.
The Fiji Meteorological Services reported that.
■ Suva recorded 128.4 millimetres of rain.
■ Nasinu recorded 92.5, ■ Nausori 59.2 and
■ Navua 60.
This was the rainfall measured from 9am on Sunday September 15 to 9am on Monday September 16 in the four areas.