Killer ‘wolf’ lashes islands
UP TO 10 people – including several children – are feared dead in the wake of Cyclone Evan after it tore a destructive path through Samoa.
Samoan officials confirmed yesterday that four locals had died in the storm, which has been upgraded to a category four cyclone as it makes its way towards Fiji.
Eight more people remain including several children.
Thousands more Samoans have been left homeless and forced into temporary shelters following the violent winds and destructive floodwaters.
Last night, New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully offered the Government’s deepest sympathies to the people of Samoa and said the Government was in the process of organising a much-needed aid package.
‘‘Our heartfelt condolences go out to the people of Samoa as they begin to come to terms with the loss of life and damage caused,’’ McCully said.
‘‘At the request of the Samoan Government, New Zealand will provide a P3 Orion to undertake aerial surveillance and environmental health assessment expertise. We have also made available $ 50,000 to assist with the on- theground response.’’
McCully said an initial assessment suggested there had been damage to outlying buildings, critical infrastructure and powerlines, with flooding, many fallen trees and power outages across the nation.
Given the mass destruction left by Cyclone Evan, it is a miracle that the death toll in Samoa is not considerably higher.
Alopule Fuiono, aged 66 and from the village of Lelata on the outskirts of Apia, yesterday recalled how one man had drowned while trying to rescue an elderly woman in raging floodwaters on Wednesday night.
‘‘He got her to safety but he was swept away and then he perished in the water,’’ Fuiono told the Samoa Observer. Others villagers had lucky escapes. ‘‘Men were seen pulling people out from rooftops, trying to get the elderly to higher ground,’’ Fuiono said.
‘‘As the wind was hurtling coconuts, roofing iron was tossed around like
missing, pieces of paper. It’s never been this bad in previous years and I believe this is the worse disaster to hit our country.
‘‘ Many homes were washed away while others were drowned by mud when the water came through . . . there is mud over two feet high in my house.’’
A villager from Vailima – 4km from Apia – yesterday described the cyclone on her Facebook page as ‘‘the wolf who came when no one was ready’’.
She wrote that the ‘‘flash floods had swept away half of Apia’’, adding: ‘‘Praying for those less fortunate and the heroes who have to work and assist others in their time of need.’’
All public offices in Samoa remain shut, as do the island’s schools. But flights in and out of Apia have resumed.
Roads and bridges have been washed away, masses of vital crops wiped out, powerlines uprooted, scores of homes seriously damaged or destroyed and cars lifted into the air and dumped in palm trees.
In other developments, the Red Cross deployed a senior representative to Samoa yesterday.
New Zealand Red Cross international operations and emergencies planner Andrew McKie confirmed that Glenn Rose flew out of Auckland yesterday morning.
He would work with local officials to help establish the extent of the damage and the immediate humanitarian needs.
‘‘ We are working in a very coordinated way with the MFat [Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade] emergency task force,’’ McKie said. Fijians have been urged to stock up on emergency items and prepare for the worst as the destructive Cyclone Evan bears down on the island nation.
After smashing its way through Samoa on Thursday and Friday, the cyclone was due to cross over the northern parts of Tonga overnight, before hitting Fiji late this afternoon.
It has been upgraded from a category three to a category four cyclone as it makes its way across the Pacific Ocean.
‘‘I am now urging each and every citizen to take seriously the impending disaster that will hit us from tropical Cyclone Evan,’’ Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said.
‘‘I urge each and every one of you not to take lightly the warning given by authorities. I will call on you to secure your homes, your businesses and your properties. I also urge you to now stock up on emergency and essential items.
‘‘Every Fijian must be prepared and not be complacent. Fellow Fijians, I cannot stress how serious this is . . . every Fijian will be affected but we must take preventative steps now.
‘‘Parents, please make sure your children are safe and at home with you. I also request that we all help our neighbours, the elderly and the disabled in preparing for this cyclone.’’
Fiji’s Meteorological Service yesterday issued another warning to locals, saying they should be braced for winds of 64 knots – gusting higher – to hit this afternoon. Winds in the centre of the cyclone are at an estimated 152kmh.
The Fiji Government’s secretary for information, Sharon Smith-Johns, said: ‘‘This is going to be an extremely bad cyclone to hit us and probably the worst that we’ve seen since Cyclone Kina [in 1993].