Council Urged to Be Vigilant As Fiji Enters Cyclone Season

MEDIA RELEASE | November 10, 2021.

SUVA- Members of the National Disaster Management Council (NDMC) have been urged to be vigilant as we set out into the 2021-2022 Cyclone Season.

Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Hon. Inia Seruiratu in addressing the Council meeting virtually on Monday said, the 2021-2022 Tropical Cyclone Seasonal Outlook had been released by the Fiji Meteorological Services and agencies must ensure they were prepared accordingly.

One to three tropical cyclones are predicted to pass through Fiji’s Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) this cyclone season.

“We are aware of what we should expect in the current cyclone season, and I wish to again remind all of us that given the significant changes that are particularly climate related, we just need to be vigilant always and prepare accordingly,” Hon. Seruiratu said.

“There’s a lot of unpredictability in the events that do occur every now and then and in learning from past experiences as well, I wish to also again remind all of us that we need to prepare and continue to communicate and coordinate during this cyclone season.”

“There have been Operational Readiness Checks (ORC) at NDMO and I am sure some organisations have also gone into checking their status of operational readiness which is very critical for us as we head into the cyclone season.”

Minister Seruiratu also encouraged the Council members to closely follow the weather updates released daily by the Fiji Met Service.

Additionally, the Hon. Minister informed the Council that there have been a number of activities conducted by the Ministry, through the Fiji NDMO in raising awareness on the importance of disaster preparedness.

These events included the launch of the National Disaster Media Awareness Campaign last month and the annual National Disaster Awareness Week (NDAW) which was recently convened virtually.

Hon. Seruiratu also acknowledged the Council members for their participation in the Preparedness and Prevention and Mitigation Committee meetings in the lead up of the start of the current cyclone season.