MORE than 50 per cent of Ba has been swallowed by floodwaters in what authorities describe as the worst deluge to hit the town in several years.
Homes, businesses and vital infrastructure remain submerged after days of relentless rain, leaving residents counting the cost and bracing for a long recovery.
Ba Town Council Board of Special Administrators chairman Moshim Khan said the scale of devastation was alarming.
“More than 50 per cent — most of the area has been affected,” he confirmed.
While the catastrophic floods of 2009 and 2012 remain the most severe on record, Mr Khan said this disaster eclipses anything experienced in the past three to four years.
“I would say that 2009 and 2012 was the biggest, as always, but compared to the past year floods, three or four years, this one is the worst one.”
Commerce in the once-bustling town has ground to a halt. Thick silt and debris blanket shop floors, while the municipal market, the heart of Ba’s fresh produce trade remains shuttered.
“Majority of the shops and the business houses are closed as well as the municipal market is closed,” Mr Khan said.
Council workers have begun the painstaking task of clearing debris, prioritising the market precinct. However, high-pressure cleaning cannot begin until the weather improves.
“It will take us approximately three days because of the silt in the market.
“Once everything will be cleared and clean then they will open it.”
Mr Khan called on ratepayers and the business community to unite in the face of adversity.
“This is nothing new for us and we’re doing our best. We’re just waiting for the weather to be cleared.”
Attempts to contact Dinesh Patel, president of the Ba Chamber of Industry and Commerce, were unsuccessful.
Multi-agency lean up begins in Ba
A MULTI agency clean-up operation is in progress in Ba as municipal councils from across Viti Levu mobilise to assist the flood-stricken town.
Teams from the Nasinu and Nausori Town Councils are partnering with the Ba Town Council, the National Fire Authority (NFA), and the Fiji Police Force to fast-track recovery efforts.
Ba Town Council chairman Moshim Khan welcomed the external support, stating that NFA officers were
scheduled to begin assistance today, pending weather conditions.
“The good news is that all the municipal councils are coming to assist us. The municipal councils from Nausori, Nasinu, they’re all coming to assist us in the clean-up,” he said.
“We’re trying our best to normalise everything and give it back to the market vendors and the business house to operate.”
Nausori Town Council Acting CEO Rajesh Kumar confirmed a team from the council’s depot department
left for Ba yesterday.
“They will be part of the Ba Town Council clean-up so that we can regularise the township into action as soon as possible, the reason being is that we are all concerned townships and we are working for the betterment of the communities as well,” he said.
Nasinu Town Council Special Administrator and acting board chairman John Tuiono said their pledge of four operations staff followed a request via the special administrators’ Viber platform.
Addressing how Nasinu would balance its own waste management schedules, Mr Tuiono said the move
required internal restructuring.
“This is a very good question and demands that we consult widely with our supervisors for the rescheduling of staff and our ACFO for the availability of funds to address this emergency situation faced by Ba Town Council,” he said.
“We work as a team when in emergency situations. It’s always good to be early rather than later but all this is dependent on the improved weather condition.”
