A TROPICAL cyclone alert is now in force for the Lau Group.
The Lomaiviti Group, Kadavu and nearby islands are also expected to feel the effects of the system, which is anticipated to lie about 520kilometres east of Lakeba Island at 7am today.
Fiji Meteorological Service director Ravind Kumar said Tropical Cyclone Ula continued its trek west-south-west towards the country.
He said the category three system was slow moving towards the Fiji Group and at this stage, he said they didn’t expect the system to further intensify.
However, the Fiji Group will continue to feel the effects of another system —tropical depression 07F (TD07F) —- as heavy rain and strong winds batter down parts of the country.
TD07F is moving south-south-west at about 16kilometres per hour and has a central pressure of 995hPa.
On this projected path, it is expected to move to the south of Fiji. The system also has a low to moderate potential of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next one to two days.
“The weather associated with the current TD07F includes heavy rain over the northern and eastern parts,” Mr Kumar said.
“We expect this weather to continue in the next 24 to 48 hours with squally thunderstorms and gusty winds.”
Meanwhile, flood alerts were also issued for low lying areas in the Rewa area, mainly focusing on places near the Wainibuka river catchment.
A flood warning was also issued for the Rakiraki river and its surrounding areas.
“We expect TC Ula to be close to Lakeba Island in early hours of tomorrow morning (today) and TD07F is also moving to the south, away from the Fiji Group.
“The rainbands are slowly easing, however, TC Ula will also bring heavy rainfall.”
Mr Kumar said it was still too early to pinpoint exactly when the weather would clear.
Meanwhile, a statement from the weather office states that close to the cyclone centre, the cyclone is expected to have average winds of 120km/hr and momentary gusts to 170km/hr. On this track, the cyclone may bring damaging gale force winds over the Lau Group from Sunday.
