To avoid being stranded at the Vaivai crossing in Lautoka, Deepak Chand packed a spare change of clothes before he headed to work yesterday.
He had also prepared his family and dropped them at a relative’s home.
The Vaivai crossing was one of a number of bridges under water yesterday as a result of overnight heavy rainfall.
Mr Chand said he had been waiting from 6am for floodwaters to recede.
“I was finally able to cross at around midday,” he said
“I will stay with my cousin overnight because I do not want to risk crossing when floodwaters start rising again.”
Naushad Ali and his son Sahil Shiraz Ali — both truck drivers — were stranded at the Drasa dam road when The Fiji Times arrived at the scene.
They were waiting for almost two hours because they did not want to take their vehicles through floodwaters.
“The water may look safe to cross but there’s also debris, and we do not want to risk it,”Mr Shiraz Ali said.
“We were able to cross earlier in the morning, but the crossing got flooded immediately because by the time we came back, the water level had risen. ”
He also highlighted the risk of the current being strong enough to sweep the trucks away.
