Newly born babies and their mothers were once evacuated to the top floor of the Navua Hospital in Serua as surging floodwaters threatened the riverside town.
This was reported by The Fiji Times on Wednesday March 16, 1977.
According to the article, schools in other areas had to close when flood waters cut off access for hundreds of children in the area.
Roads were under water and were blocked by landslides. The heavy rain did hundreds of dollars worth of damage to agricultural crops.
A staff nurse at the Navua Hospital said two newly born babies, two sick children, their mothers and a premature baby were transferred to the nurses’ home upstairs because the wards downstairs were flooded.
“The operating room is downstairs, and no preparations had been made for emergencies,” the staff said.
Navua district officer, Eroni Vaqalewa toured the area and warned farmers and residents to take their livestock to higher ground.
“Some schools at Navua were made ready to receive evacuees from flooded areas if waters rose during the night,” the Commissioner Central’s office in Nausori reported.
Officers were concerned that heavy rains falling in Namosi would flood the rivers further down.
Flooding and landslides caused by the rain forced some of Fiji’s major roads to close.
On the Kings Rd, six miles from Nausori about 10 landslides and major flooding at Nadera flats closed the road to all light traffic.
Serious flooding to a depth of 4ft on Queens Rd at Batinika Flats, between Deuba and Navua, forced closure to all traffic.
Naqali Bridge, Sawani near Adi Cakobau School was almost completely under water and the Sawani-Serea Rd was closed to all traffic.
The director of roads and airfields, Alan Jaap said there was general flooding in the Rewa Delta and most roads there were under water.
“Little damage had been done to crops near Nausori so far, but a police patrol launch had left for Dawasamu on the Ra coast to check out reports of extensive damage there,” the Commissioner Central’s office said.
Heavy rain reportedly caused hundreds of dollars’ worth of damage to rice crops in North-West Viti Levu too.
