EXPECT very high tides and some coastal flooding until Sunday.
That is the word from Fiji Meteorological Services director Terry Atalifo who said a king tide was expected this Sunday. Coupled with rainy conditions caused by Tropical Cyclone Irene, this would result in some coastal inundation.
“The king tide expected on Sunday will be the highest tide of the year so the high tides will start to increase from Friday (today), Saturday and then on Sunday,” he said.
“So on Friday we will start experiencing higher tides especially in the Suva area. For Suva area, the tides will be very high. The highest tide of the year will be recorded on January 22.”
He said waves could be higher than 3 metres.
“At the moment, over local waters, we are looking at about 3.5 metres.
“If this was high waves alone, then it wouldn’t be an issue but because of the high tide with Sunday being the highest tide of the year and if we have a coupling effect with the system from the tropical cyclone, then it might cause some coastal inundation.
“So with the combination of these things we will issue a coastal inundation alert just to make sure that everyone is aware what could happen not only in Suva but also our maritime islands.
“Areas in Western Viti Levu, the Yasawa and Mamanuca groups and Kadavu area. “So these are some of the main things that we have on which we have briefed the National Disaster Management Office.
“Other than that we don’t expect extreme weather conditions from the TC.”
