THE Fiji Meteorological Service (MET) is keeping a close watch on any coming severe tropical cyclone season, with a seasonal outlook expected in October.
MET director Misaeli Funaki said the seasonal outlook would normally be issued next month, but preparations were already underway as the region entered an El Niño period.
Historical patterns showed that some of the strongest cyclones experienced by Fiji had occurred during El Niño years.
According to Mr Funaki, Cyclone Winston in 2016 and Cyclone Bebe in 1972 were examples of severe cyclones that occurred during El Niño years.
“So this is a time where, within El Niño there are warm waters around,” he said.
He said the outlook would come in the next few weeks, but the cyclone season itself would ultimately dictate the conditions experienced.
“But preparations are already taking place, with some remote islands requesting water amid the current conditions.
“We are also looking at the tropical cyclone season because it usually brings with it the rainy season.”
Mr Funaki said forecasts indicating the possibility of a shift into a rainy season also raised questions around the mobilisation of government resources and how communities and essential services would cope.
“For our everyday people, people in the outer island stations, how the medical facilities will cope.”
He said the preparations involved a broad range of considerations, while the Government already had a strategy for managing the situation.
