7 Cyclone Winston: Catholic Women’s Faith …
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reached Fiji on Saturday. They expected it to be similar to the many cyclones they
had experienced in the past and prepared in the same way as for previous cyclones.
On Saturday morning just after 8 a.m., police officers from Levuka drove by the
village, warning people about the severity of the imminent cyclone and alerted the
turaga ni koro. Between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. the turaga ni koro walked around the village
again, calling out the upgraded cyclone warning. Tokou had no formal evacuation
plan and the Evacuation Centre was not opened till around 12.30 p.m.
At about 9 a.m. Reijeli heard about the expected intensity of TC Winston directly
from her niece in Australia. Since her niece lived overseas Reijeli felt this must be
accurate information, so she started preparing for the storm. She stored rugs, mats
and bedding in the wooden ceiling beams of her home. She packed away all the
photos from her living room wall except for the Immaculate Heart of Mary picture
which she kept there for protection. She prayed to Mary ‘to protect Fiji and all its
families’. Normally she has disaster essentials such as candles, batteries, bandages
and paracetamol at home but that day she had run out of candles so she went to
Levuka to stock up.
The turaga ni koro’s warnings on Saturday morning prompted many of the
villagers to start securing their homes and moving animals to higher ground. Women
stored electrical items, bedding and mats on ceiling beams. The atmosphere in the
village was not one of panic but of the usual preparations for any cyclone. Even two
hours before the cyclone struck, one woman was trying to finish her sewing, knowing
that a power cut was inevitable. Some of the women continued cooking lunch for
their families so that they would have meals to take with them to the Evacuation
Centre. Others made urgent trips to Levuka town to buy cyclone supplies such as
kerosene, candles, flour and cooking oil.
During
How people responded to the situation depended on their experience of the intensity of
the cyclone. This was dependent on where in the village their homes were located. So
even though the turaga ni koro opened the village hall to evacuees around 12.30 p.m.,
most people stayed in their homes until the first tidal surge had swept through the
village.
By early afternoon the winds were very strong. It was raining heavily and the tide
was also high. Seini, a disabled 75-year-old woman, refused to be evacuated when
her son came to take her to the Evacuation Centre. She was convinced her house was
strong enough to withstand the storm and therefore wanted to remain in her home.
But her son had helped in the construction of the village hall and knew that it was
stronger than their home so he persuaded her to be taken to the Evacuation Centre
where it would be safe.
Mid-afternoon the first tidal surge flooded the village. A woman recalled that “It
started to rain, the wind was so strong…and very soon we can [sic] see the water
coming in … it was like the ocean”.
129
reached Fiji on Saturday. They expected it to be similar to the many cyclones they
had experienced in the past and prepared in the same way as for previous cyclones.
On Saturday morning just after 8 a.m., police officers from Levuka drove by the
village, warning people about the severity of the imminent cyclone and alerted the
turaga ni koro. Between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. the turaga ni koro walked around the village
again, calling out the upgraded cyclone warning. Tokou had no formal evacuation
plan and the Evacuation Centre was not opened till around 12.30 p.m.
At about 9 a.m. Reijeli heard about the expected intensity of TC Winston directly
from her niece in Australia. Since her niece lived overseas Reijeli felt this must be
accurate information, so she started preparing for the storm. She stored rugs, mats
and bedding in the wooden ceiling beams of her home. She packed away all the
photos from her living room wall except for the Immaculate Heart of Mary picture
which she kept there for protection. She prayed to Mary ‘to protect Fiji and all its
families’. Normally she has disaster essentials such as candles, batteries, bandages
and paracetamol at home but that day she had run out of candles so she went to
Levuka to stock up.
The turaga ni koro’s warnings on Saturday morning prompted many of the
villagers to start securing their homes and moving animals to higher ground. Women
stored electrical items, bedding and mats on ceiling beams. The atmosphere in the
village was not one of panic but of the usual preparations for any cyclone. Even two
hours before the cyclone struck, one woman was trying to finish her sewing, knowing
that a power cut was inevitable. Some of the women continued cooking lunch for
their families so that they would have meals to take with them to the Evacuation
Centre. Others made urgent trips to Levuka town to buy cyclone supplies such as
kerosene, candles, flour and cooking oil.
During
How people responded to the situation depended on their experience of the intensity of
the cyclone. This was dependent on where in the village their homes were located. So
even though the turaga ni koro opened the village hall to evacuees around 12.30 p.m.,
most people stayed in their homes until the first tidal surge had swept through the
village.
By early afternoon the winds were very strong. It was raining heavily and the tide
was also high. Seini, a disabled 75-year-old woman, refused to be evacuated when
her son came to take her to the Evacuation Centre. She was convinced her house was
strong enough to withstand the storm and therefore wanted to remain in her home.
But her son had helped in the construction of the village hall and knew that it was
stronger than their home so he persuaded her to be taken to the Evacuation Centre
where it would be safe.
Mid-afternoon the first tidal surge flooded the village. A woman recalled that “It
started to rain, the wind was so strong…and very soon we can [sic] see the water
coming in … it was like the ocean”.