A year-round warm tropical climate is one of the main aspects of Fiji that attracts visitors from all over. However, the hot weather, humidity and its South Pacific location can also lead to dangerous and life-threatening natural disasters, including cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes and tsunamis.

Cyclones

A cyclone is a tropical type of hurricane and is the main and most wide-spread natural disaster in the Pacific region. Severe tropical storms bring about massive rainfall, plus the low pressure may cause the sea to rise as much as two meters (6.5 feet).

Data from the last 150 years indicate that cyclones occur more frequently in the central and western Pacific both north and south of the equator than in the eastern Pacific. Destruction of houses, other infrastructure and gardens, loss of vegetation, flooding, land erosion, coastal inundation, destruction of coral reefs and sea grass beds, and pollution of water supplies are all effects of cyclones.

The islands of Fiji experienced 136 cyclones between 1880 and 1997. Fiji’s cyclone season is from November through April. In December of 2007, a cyclone with wind gusts up to 155 mph hit the northern part of Fiji and destroyed houses, though none of the areas affected were heavily populated and no deaths were reported.

Another cyclone, named Cyclone Gene, hit the Fijian city capital of Suva and surrounding areas with wind gusts up to 85 mph, causing widespread flooding and blackouts. At least three people were killed directly or indirectly by the storm.

Floods

Flooding in Fiji can be the result of cyclones, though it can also occur during the country’s rainy season, which is normally in the warmer months between November and March. Fiji also has wet and dry zones, so naturally the wet zones, which are mostly located in the southeast region of the islands, are much more prone to experience heavy rains and flooding.

One recent instance of flooding in Fiji occurred in January of 2009. Four days of heavy rain poured down on the towns of Nadi, Labasa, Sigatoka, Ba and many rural villages on one of Fiji’s main islands, Viti Levu. Because the water had been polluted, authorities had to deliver clean drinking water, as well as other supplies, to the affected areas. Other damages the floods had caused were severed roads, bridges submerged in the floodwaters and loss of sugar cane crops, which were washed out. Eight people were reported to have been killed, six from drowning and two killed in a landslide.

Droughts

The areas that are driest (also called the dry zones) are the lower islands and leeward areas of Fiji. These areas are also most vulnerable to droughts. Besides affecting water supplies, droughts can have a very negative impact on agriculture, which is an extremely important economic aspect of Fiji.

The 1997-98 drought in Fiji caused a 5% decrease of the sugar cane crop, though from those that remained, 25% were wiped out. The national production loss was at 50% ($104 million in Fijian dollars), much greater than the losses from the previous six Fijian droughts and cyclones. The largest production losses occurred in the marginal islands, which are located on steep slopes and are nearest to the sea.

Earthquakes and Tsunamis

tsunami The Fijian Islands are seismically active, which means that they are prone to experience earthquakes. The greatest danger of earthquakes, especially severe ones, is the damage and destruction of houses and other infrastructure, as well as natural structures such as trees, which results from the shaking. This can also cause pieces or the entire structure to fall down and kill people.

However, in some cases, earthquakes can cause tsunamis as well. A tsunami is a large ocean wave that is caused by a sudden motion of the ocean floor. Besides an earthquake, the sudden motion could also be the result of an underwater landslide or a powerful volcanic eruption. Tsunamis are extremely dangerous and can quickly result in the loss of lives.

One of the most destructive Fijian tsunamis hit Suva on September 14, 1953. It occurred right after a severe 6.7 earthquake. It caused major damage and destruction to the wharf and infrastructure and caused three deaths in Suva, as well as twelve who had reportedly drowned in Koro and Kadavu. It was determined that the source of the tsunami was the result of a 60 million cubic meter submarine landslide at the head of the Suva Canyon.

Another major earthquake (though without a tsunami) occurred on November 17, 1979. It resulted in severe damage and destruction to infrastructure on neighboring islands and a landslide on the island of Qamea.