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International flights resume as cyclone moves away from Fiji |
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Tuesday, 16 March 2010 |
Fijian government and tourism officials are confident the worst is over with cyclone Tomas as it moves away from the main commercial and tourist areas of Viti Levu, the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands.
International airlines including national carrier Air Pacific, Air New Zealand and V-Australia have all announced flights in and out of Nadi will resume today albeit on delayed schedules.
And while schools across the destination remain closed until further notice, it is anticipated that the country’s essential services in the larger populated areas will be fully operational later today (Tuesday).
Most shops are also expected to open for business today.
In a brief issued earlier today by the Fiji Meteorological Service’s director of meteorology, Rajendra Prasad at 9am today the eye and core feature of the cyclone were now moving over the Northern Lau Group and would reach Central and Southern Lau later today.
In the Central division, including the capital city Suva, damaging gale force winds with gusts of up to 85km/hr would be expected today with periods of rain.
Prasad said some flash flooding was possible in the Central division but not on a large scale.
Cyclone Tomas is expected to maintain its intensity for another 12 hours before gradually weakening.
Tourism Fiji chief executive Josefa Tuamoto said confirmed that while the north-east region of the Fijian archipelago was affected from Tomas, the bulk of the country’s tourism plant located on the big island of Viti Levu (Coral Coast, Denarau, Nadi and Pacific Harbour) and in the nearby Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands had escaped unscathed.
Tuamoto said reports filtering in from hotel and resort operators in the country’s north-east – Vanua Levu, Taveuni and Savusavu - indicated some damage to property but the damage was minimal with no reports of tourists being injured. However the northern region was continuing to experience strong winds and heavy sea swells.
Tuamoto also confirmed that communication systems cut during the height of the cyclone had now been resumed.
In addition, much of the electrical power in the region shut down for safety reasons in these regions was expected to be resumed in a short time.
Most resorts and hotels in the region had maintained power via generators during the period.
“It would appear that the worst is over,” said Tuamoto. “We are moving towards the end of our annual cyclone season and while Tomas is one of the bigger weather fronts we have experienced in recent times, none the less we have become very experienced at preparing for these kinds of events."
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