Fear power

MAN SHOULDERS FALLING BEAM FOR 8 HOURS

FEAR motivates people in desperate situations to think outside the box.

That’s exactly what pushed Josefa Rokogata to squeeze himself, and his 61-year-old uncle Sunia Qera, into a cabinet to escape the wrath of super storm Yasa last Thursday.

As the adrenalin kicked in when Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasa’s Category 5 winds peeled off roofs and tore down the building they were sheltering in, fear also gave Mr Rokogata the strength to prop up a house beam which threatened to crush his uncle to death.

Fear gave Mr Rokogata the strength to shoulder the beam for eight hours as the super cyclone tore their village to shreds.

JOSEFA Rokogata kept his uncle from being crushed by a fallen house beam for eight hours while they weathered super storm Yasa inside a cabinet.

The duo had jammed themselves inside the cabinet after TC Yasa dismantled his uncle Sunia Qera’s house in Yaro Village, Kia, with destructive force winds.

Mr Rokogata said at 4pm on Thursday, he was at a kava session when the roof of the home they were gathered in was blown off.

The menfolk ran for shelter to the village church, the most secure building in Yaro.

But while they were gathered inside, something urged him to run to his uncle’s home to check on him.

“At about 8pm the winds were just blowing roofs off and bringing houses down and my uncle, who is 61, said we needed to seek refuge in a more secure building but I told him we shouldn’t move around because it wasn’t safe,” the 36-year-old said.

“The winds continued to strengthen and at 9pm we felt the whole house vibrate before the windows smashed into pieces and the wind literally tore the house open.”

In terror, the two men emptied a cabinet and jammed themselves inside.

“It was about 10pm when my uncle screamed in pain and said a beam had fallen across his side of the cabinet.

“So I held the beam up to keep him from being crushed and I thank God that he took me to my uncle’s house that day, otherwise, I don’t know what might have happened to him.”

He said there were moments when he dozed off to sleep but was forced to open his eyes whenever his uncle called out to him.

At about 5am the two men were forced to crawl out of the cabinet and seek shelter elsewhere because the winds had become too intense.

Picture: JOVESA NAISUA SURVIVORS … Kia Island villagers did whatever they could to stay alive. Desperate villagers fled under the floors of their homes, while others such as Josefa Rokogata and his uncle jammed themselves into a cabinet.

Picture: JOVESA NAISUA Josefa Rokogata, 36, shows the cabinet he and his uncle Sunia Qera, 61, sought refuge in at the height of STC Yasa.