Roads inaccessible
Heavy downpour affects motorists, weather office sounds warning
A NUMBER of roads and crossings in Tailevu were inaccessible to motorists yesterday as heavy downpours continue to affect the Central Division and other parts of the country.
A team from this newspaper travelled along the Kings highway yesterday.
Qelekuro Village and Nabualau Settlement in Dawasamu District were places that had motorists stopping for a couple of hours waiting for water levels to recede.
Qelekuro villager Sevanaia Tauvoli was among the villagers who were checking on their farms for damage caused by the floodwaters.
“When there is heavy rain, all of these roads get flooded and it is easier to walk because cars can’t get through,” said Mr Tauvoli.
“I have a job at Gold Rock, but I got the call that there will be no work today because of bad weather.
“The flooding has affected the road at Qelekuro, the wharf at Nabualau and the roads in front of Luvunavuaka, Delakado and Vorovoro.
“From the wharf, the heavy rain causes issues on the road because it washes away the gravel. It makes the road unsafe to cross for any vehicle even when the flood waters go down.
“We have discussed in the village what to do when this happens and the one thing, we hope to do is to raise the wharf so it can be above the flood zone.”
At 3pm yesterday, the Fiji Meteorological Services announced that a heavy rain warning remained in force for the Yasawa and Mamanuca groups, the whole of Viti Levu, and across the Northern Division, while a heavy rain alert was in force for the rest of the Fiji group.
“An active trough of low pressure associated with a Tropical Disturbance, TD05F, was affecting the Fiji group. The weather office confirmed the system is expected to continue to have an impact on the Fiji Group until Thursday.
“This system is forecast to bring occasional to persistent periods of rain, heavy at times, along with a possibility of thunderstorms over the Fiji group,” the FMS statement stated.