130
S. Sahai et al.
Some women took their bedding and kerosene stoves to the Evacuation Centre
and continued cooking their lunch there. Others went with only the clothes they were
wearing or just one change of clothes. Mothers and children took food and bags of
clothes with them while many of the men and their sons insisted on staying in their
homes to secure them.
Leilani, who was five months pregnant, was frightened as she watched the tidal
surge flooding the village. The water was rising. She put blankets, pillows, mats and
clothes in garbage bags and placed them in a laundry basket on a bed raised above
the floor. While the rest of the family were at home, her husband had gone to a
neighbour’s house, thinking that the flooding was just the usual flooding caused by
the river in heavy rain.
When Leilani heard calls outside that a “tsunami was coming’, she hurriedly left
for the Evacuation Centre, holding her two-year old son in her arms, but the water was
already waist-deep, and she had to be assisted by young men. Even though Leilani’s
pregnancy made her vulnerable, she made sure to take a thermos with hot water to
last her till the next morning so she could warm milk for her son. Leilani’s response
to the flooding of placing bedding, mats and clothes on the bed proved effective as
the dry clothes, blankets and sleeping bag were used by her family that night in the
Evacuation Centre.
Another woman who tried to make her way to the Evacuation Centre described
the scene: “When we wanted to cross there was like … a whirlwind or something
inside the village … we couldn’t see anyone”.
One woman and her family, who continued with a birthday party celebration
despite the cyclone warnings, had to evacuate their home when it was flooded by the
tidal surge. By this time it was too late to get to the Evacuation Centre. They tried to
wade through the water to get to their neighbour’s house, but it was too difficult for
them to move through the water on their own because of the strong currents and the
now chest-deep water. Young men had to assist the women, children and the elderly,
while others used a bilibili (a hand-made raft of bamboo poles) that had floated into
the village from the river.
Struggling to get to her husband through the chest-deep current surging through
the village, Asinate was assisted by two young men who helped her to safety. As
she moved from house to house through the flooded village she screamed in English
“Lord, please give me another chance”, and in Fijian, “Isa, Turaga, rawa ni vukei
au”.
By 4 p.m. three tidal surges had washed through Tokou. A large part of the village
was flooded and remained submerged for about seven hours. The tidal surges reached
as far as 120 metres inland, well beyond the Evacuation Centre which was located
35 metres from the shoreline and was flooded ankle high with water.
S. Sahai et al.
Some women took their bedding and kerosene stoves to the Evacuation Centre
and continued cooking their lunch there. Others went with only the clothes they were
wearing or just one change of clothes. Mothers and children took food and bags of
clothes with them while many of the men and their sons insisted on staying in their
homes to secure them.
Leilani, who was five months pregnant, was frightened as she watched the tidal
surge flooding the village. The water was rising. She put blankets, pillows, mats and
clothes in garbage bags and placed them in a laundry basket on a bed raised above
the floor. While the rest of the family were at home, her husband had gone to a
neighbour’s house, thinking that the flooding was just the usual flooding caused by
the river in heavy rain.
When Leilani heard calls outside that a “tsunami was coming’, she hurriedly left
for the Evacuation Centre, holding her two-year old son in her arms, but the water was
already waist-deep, and she had to be assisted by young men. Even though Leilani’s
pregnancy made her vulnerable, she made sure to take a thermos with hot water to
last her till the next morning so she could warm milk for her son. Leilani’s response
to the flooding of placing bedding, mats and clothes on the bed proved effective as
the dry clothes, blankets and sleeping bag were used by her family that night in the
Evacuation Centre.
Another woman who tried to make her way to the Evacuation Centre described
the scene: “When we wanted to cross there was like … a whirlwind or something
inside the village … we couldn’t see anyone”.
One woman and her family, who continued with a birthday party celebration
despite the cyclone warnings, had to evacuate their home when it was flooded by the
tidal surge. By this time it was too late to get to the Evacuation Centre. They tried to
wade through the water to get to their neighbour’s house, but it was too difficult for
them to move through the water on their own because of the strong currents and the
now chest-deep water. Young men had to assist the women, children and the elderly,
while others used a bilibili (a hand-made raft of bamboo poles) that had floated into
the village from the river.
Struggling to get to her husband through the chest-deep current surging through
the village, Asinate was assisted by two young men who helped her to safety. As
she moved from house to house through the flooded village she screamed in English
“Lord, please give me another chance”, and in Fijian, “Isa, Turaga, rawa ni vukei
au”.
By 4 p.m. three tidal surges had washed through Tokou. A large part of the village
was flooded and remained submerged for about seven hours. The tidal surges reached
as far as 120 metres inland, well beyond the Evacuation Centre which was located
35 metres from the shoreline and was flooded ankle high with water.