The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is providing emergency supplies to Fijian families whose homes were destroyed overnight by Tropical Cyclone Yasa.
In a Facebook post, ADRA regional humanitarian adviser Michael Peach said the cyclone sat over Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second largest island, for three hours last night, wreaking havoc in communities like Labassa, whose residents sheltered in evacuation centres.
“ADRA Fiji is planning to deliver water, sanitation and hygiene kits to families in the next day or two, followed by a larger long-term recovery program,” Mr Peach said.
“The New Zealand Government has already committed. funds to ADRA Fiji along with generous support from our ADRA Australia and ADRA New Zealand offices.
“It’s going to be a bleak Christmas and frustrating rebuild process for many who have not yet recovered from Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016.”
Tropical Cyclone Yasa was predicted to be the strongest storm ever observed in the South Pacific basin. According to ABC News, two people have been confirmed dead as a result of the category-five storm, which had wind gusts as high as 345 kilometres an hour. There have reports of widespread flooding and landslides in Fiji’s north, with bulldings and crops destroyed.
