AS we are all aware, Fiji is into the cyclone season. Heavy rain and flooding are expected in these six months from November 1 to April 30 next year. Over the weekend, some places in the Eastern Division were flooded because of continuous heavy rain.
The country has been hit by cyclones in the past, some of which also claimed lives apart from causing destruction.
While some people have experienced many cyclones and flooding, others are yet to see the wrath of nature.
Last week, we took a look at the four cyclones that hit Fiji within a span of two months in 1985.
Today, we talk to a senior citizen on her experiences and to someone who has been an active aid worker during natural disasters.
AGE is catching up with her but she still has vivid memories of natural disasters of the past.
Like 78-year-old Mariam Bibi, there are others who can remember hurricanes and cyclones that tore Fiji apart at one time or the other.
Ms Bibi, of Vuda in Lautoka, remembers some things about Hurricane Bebe that struck Fiji in 1972.
She was living in Sabeto at that time with her husband and they had nine children, some of whom were attending school.
“I remember that a hurricane warning was being given for about one week and people were warned to be alert,” she said.
“Hurricane Bebe hit Fiji and as far as I know, it came and went in one or one and a half hours.
“We had a concrete house and it wasn’t damaged. But my neighbours’ houses were damaged by the hurricane.”
Ms Bibi said Tropical Cyclone Oscar in 1983 also caused severe damage, followed by Eric, Nigel, Gavin and Hina between January and March 1985.
“I remember that during Oscar, a woman in the neighbourhood made ghee and she buried the bottle in the soil to keep it safe.
“But when the cyclone came, it pulled up the soil and also took her bottle of ghee away. I don’t think it was found again.
“Eric and Nigel in January 1985 were also bad. We had moved from Sabeto and were living in Vuda.
“The cyclones uprooted a big mango tree and the other cyclone that followed put it upright. Such was the force of the winds.”
Ms Bibi said the roof of their house was lifted up by strong winds from TC Arthur in 1981 but her husband managed to keep the structure safe.
Her late husband quickly tied wires across the roof to iron rods that he had put in the cement floor outside the house.
“The roof was lifted by the winds and it was almost going when my husband tied the wires and was able to keep the house intact.”
Ms Bibi said her mother passed away in Lautoka Hospital when TC Oscar started battering Fiji in the mid-1980s.
“She was sick in hospital for a few days and she passed away around the same time when the cyclone came.”
The senior citizen said it was always good for people to take precautions whenever a warning was sounded of adverse weather conditions.
“If we are in the cyclone season, then we should be always prepared instead of running around in the last minute,” said Ms Bibi.
