POLICE officers in the Western Division’s urban centres were summoned to duty on May 4, 1997, as Cyclone June approached and fears of looting mounted.
According to an article published by The Fiji Times the following day, police cleared the streets at 8pm that night.
Divisional Police Commander Western, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Govind Raju met senior officers to strategise the execution of their campaign against potential looters.
During the height of Cyclone Gavin, which struck in March the same year, looters ransacked several business houses in the West and made off with groceries and food.
SSP Raju said they did not want a repeat of that incident and recalled police officers on leave.
“Police started curbing unnecessary movements on the streets from 8pm on Saturday, directing people to go to their homes,” he said.
“The warnings were repeated this morning through loud hailers. We have adequate police to cover all the areas in the West and are certainly not going to take any chances like last time.
“All off-duty officers have been recalled to duty to be on alert for any possible looting and to help those people who might be affected by the cyclone.”
SSP Raju urged the public to support police’s efforts during the potential flooding to prevent drowning and advised residents in landslide-prone areas to evacuate.
Meanwhile, domestic airlines suspended operations indefinitely. Air Fiji grounded all aircraft at its Nausori Airport hangar, with director of flight operations Captain Murray Turley stating that flights would not resume until conditions were safe.
Sunflower Airlines continued flying until noon on May 4 before suspending its services, and Air Pacific operated its Brisbane service but was forced to cancel subsequent flights.
