Tropical Cyclone “Cody” leaves widespread floods and infrastructure damage, Fiji
Tropical Cyclone "Cody" formed on January 10, 2022, near Fiji as the second named storm of the 2021/22 South Pacific Ocean cyclone season. Cody's center passed south of the island without making landfall, but strong winds and prolonged heavy rains caused widespread floods and infrastructure damage, especially on the western side of Viti Levu.
At 00:00 UTC on January 10, Cody's center was located about 255 km (158 miles) SW of Viti Levu, with maximum sustained winds of 74 km/h (46 mph).
At least one person was killed in Tavua Town, northern Viti Levu, and a number of people were forced to evacuate in northern and western Viti Levu due to floods.
According to Energy Fiji Limited (EFL) Chief Executive Hasmukh Patel, Cody brought continuous heavy rain and floods, causing huge infrastructure damages.
Some fallen power lines are still down and Fijians are urged to stay away from them and alert the EFL as soon as possible, Patel said.1
Most parts of the Rewa province are currently flooded as a result of heavy rain brought by TC Cody.
Our teams on the ground continue to send in live images of some flooded areas around the province as we work around the clock to get stranded individuals to safety. pic.twitter.com/ZjQ09a6XtZ
— Fiji NDMO (@FijiNDMO) January 11, 2022
Severe Weather Update
Heavy rain is occasionally still affecting parts of the Fiji group with existing risk of flooding in some areas especially in the Western, Northern and Eastern Divisions.
List of areas still under Flood Warning: https://t.co/OuLTFqS04Y pic.twitter.com/9DAa8oHTfx
— Fiji Meteorological Service (@FJMETservice) January 10, 2022
Severe Weather Update
TC Cody to the SW of Fiji is gradually moving away from the group. Associated rainbands continue to affect the western parts of the country.
Meanwhile, an active trough with cloud & rain lies slow moving over the Northern & Eastern parts of the group. pic.twitter.com/GEfLq5GskQ
— Fiji Meteorological Service (@FJMETservice) January 10, 2022
According to the Ministry of Education, schools will remain closed until they receive clearance from the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) that it was safe to reopen, as 58 schools are being used as evacuation centers and will need to be decontaminated once the weather has improved and the situation was cleared by the Ministry of Health.
Most parts of the Rewa province are currently flooded, NDMO said at 05:33 UTC on January 11.
"Our teams on the ground continue to send in live images of some flooded areas around the province as we work around the clock to get stranded individuals to safety."
At this time, there are 4 069 people in 156 evacuation centers.
Tropical Cyclone "Cody" at 04:00 UTC on January 11, 2022. Credit: JMA/Himawari-8, RAMMB/CIRA, TW
References:
1 Tropical Cyclone Cody causes huge infrastructure damage in Fiji – Xinhua
Featured image credit: NDMO
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