Fiji yesterday sent boats carrying desperately needed aid to remote islands and coastal villages devastated by a powerful cyclone which killed at least 29 people, as aid workers warned of possible outbreaks of the Zika virus and dengue fever.
There are fears the death toll could rise in the nation of 900,000 people when communication resumes with the smaller islands hit by Cyclone Winston on Saturday.
Aerial footage of outlying islands taken by the Royal New Zealand Air Force and posted on the Fijian government’s Web site, showed whole villages flattened and flooded after Winston’s destructive winds, up to 325kph, tore through the archipelago of 300 islands. Thousands live in shacks in low-lying coastal areas.
Photo: Reuters
Authorities have warned of “catastrophic” damage to Koro Island, Fiji’s seventh-largest island, and more than 8,000 people continue to shelter in evacuation centers.
Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama reassured Fijians that the government was doing all it could amid growing criticism of the slow emergency response in some parts of the nation.
“We realize the desperate position that you are in,” Bainimarama said in a statement after visiting an evacuation center. “We will not rest until we have reached you, and given you the helping hand you so badly need and deserve.”
“Unfortunately, the recovery process will take time, perhaps a long time,” he added. “Almost no part of our nation has been left unscarred.”
Aid workers warned of potential outbreaks of the Zika virus and dengue fever, both carried by mosquitoes which breed in the stagnant water left by the storm.
“The threat of dengue [fever] and Zika [virus] in the coming days in Fiji is real,” Plan International Australia senior health program manager Chris Hagarty said.
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