11 Paddling on Both Sides of the Canoe …
211
The Big Monster - Tropical Cyclone Winston as Case Study
While conducting fieldwork in Fiji in 2016 I was a survivor of Tropical Cyclone
Winston and in the aftermath a relief worker with Fiji Red Cross (Gard and Veitayaki
2017). On Saturday the 20th of February Winston made landfall in Suva and cut a
path of destruction across the Fijian Islands. I recall sitting with my neighbours in
their living room illuminated with only a few candles and wondering if the roof
would peel away in the incredible winds. Winston generated gusts of wind recorded
at 200 MPH and average wind speeds of 143 MPH (Westcott 2016). The tall palm
trees in the backyard crashed to the ground, as Winston was a Category 5 superstorm
of unprecedented strength and destruction. Forty-four people were killed, buildings
were stripped to their foundations and towns were reduced to rubble, leaving many
in abject poverty.
For months after Winston, families struggled to procure basic necessities, such as
food and clean drinking water for their children (Bolatagici 2016). My own neighbourhood of Suva Point was without electricity for one week after Winston, though
this was nothing when compared to rural communities that faced far worse difficulties, some going months without electricity and running water (Round 2016). In
the days and weeks following Winston, I volunteered with Fiji Red Cross assisting
with damage and need based assessments and emergency aid supply deployment.
I also joined a dozen colleagues from the University of the South Pacific (USP) in
gathering and purchasing relief supplies for the fishing community on Qoma Island
located to the northeast of Suva (Fig. 11.1).
Qoma was especially heavily hit and after gathering supplies we made the twohour trip to the island via car and then boat. After we had unloaded the relief supplies
from the boats, which ranged from freshly baked bread to plastic sheeting, we were
formally greeted by the village elders on the concrete foundational slab that had
once served as a community gathering space and village hall. Following our formal
greeting, I wandered through the community, speaking with villagers and listening
to their Winston, or “big monster” as they called it, survival stories. It was clear
that the devastation was near-total on Qoma. Many homes and buildings had been
stripped to the concrete slabs, while other buildings, such as the Methodist Church,
the largest building on the island, had a roof that had collapsed and was unusable
(Gard and Veitayaki 2017: 160–161) (Fig. 11.2).
As I surveyed the damage and spoke with villagers, I was especially touched by the story
of one family who had sheltered together in the bathroom, which had partial concrete walls
and thus was stronger than the rest of their home. As I spoke with the middle-aged father he
shared with me that ‘God kept us safe; he is always with us’ and it was the love of his family
that had enabled him to face the future (Gard 2016, np). Drawing upon faith and family,
he was already in the process of rebuilding his family’s former home. (Gard and Veitayaki
2017: 160–161)
After we had spent the afternoon on Qoma, my USP colleagues and I returned to
the boats for the short journey back to our vehicles on Viti Levu. On the drive back to
Suva, we discussed ways in which Fijian communities could be made more resilient
211
The Big Monster - Tropical Cyclone Winston as Case Study
While conducting fieldwork in Fiji in 2016 I was a survivor of Tropical Cyclone
Winston and in the aftermath a relief worker with Fiji Red Cross (Gard and Veitayaki
2017). On Saturday the 20th of February Winston made landfall in Suva and cut a
path of destruction across the Fijian Islands. I recall sitting with my neighbours in
their living room illuminated with only a few candles and wondering if the roof
would peel away in the incredible winds. Winston generated gusts of wind recorded
at 200 MPH and average wind speeds of 143 MPH (Westcott 2016). The tall palm
trees in the backyard crashed to the ground, as Winston was a Category 5 superstorm
of unprecedented strength and destruction. Forty-four people were killed, buildings
were stripped to their foundations and towns were reduced to rubble, leaving many
in abject poverty.
For months after Winston, families struggled to procure basic necessities, such as
food and clean drinking water for their children (Bolatagici 2016). My own neighbourhood of Suva Point was without electricity for one week after Winston, though
this was nothing when compared to rural communities that faced far worse difficulties, some going months without electricity and running water (Round 2016). In
the days and weeks following Winston, I volunteered with Fiji Red Cross assisting
with damage and need based assessments and emergency aid supply deployment.
I also joined a dozen colleagues from the University of the South Pacific (USP) in
gathering and purchasing relief supplies for the fishing community on Qoma Island
located to the northeast of Suva (Fig. 11.1).
Qoma was especially heavily hit and after gathering supplies we made the twohour trip to the island via car and then boat. After we had unloaded the relief supplies
from the boats, which ranged from freshly baked bread to plastic sheeting, we were
formally greeted by the village elders on the concrete foundational slab that had
once served as a community gathering space and village hall. Following our formal
greeting, I wandered through the community, speaking with villagers and listening
to their Winston, or “big monster” as they called it, survival stories. It was clear
that the devastation was near-total on Qoma. Many homes and buildings had been
stripped to the concrete slabs, while other buildings, such as the Methodist Church,
the largest building on the island, had a roof that had collapsed and was unusable
(Gard and Veitayaki 2017: 160–161) (Fig. 11.2).
As I surveyed the damage and spoke with villagers, I was especially touched by the story
of one family who had sheltered together in the bathroom, which had partial concrete walls
and thus was stronger than the rest of their home. As I spoke with the middle-aged father he
shared with me that ‘God kept us safe; he is always with us’ and it was the love of his family
that had enabled him to face the future (Gard 2016, np). Drawing upon faith and family,
he was already in the process of rebuilding his family’s former home. (Gard and Veitayaki
2017: 160–161)
After we had spent the afternoon on Qoma, my USP colleagues and I returned to
the boats for the short journey back to our vehicles on Viti Levu. On the drive back to
Suva, we discussed ways in which Fijian communities could be made more resilient