South Paciflc Study Vo1 21,No l,2000

Natural Disasters and the lsland Econonlies:

An Exanlination of the
Econolllic Cost of Natural Disasters inFiii

ⅣIahendra REDDYl)

Abstract

Nattlral disastcrs are commOn to Paciic lsland countties and havc caused a maJor drain in govcmmenザsannual budgct

Apart frolll thc short tcnn and direct cffcct of loss in capital stock and GI)P,thc long―tcrlll cffcct

on dcvclopment of tllc cconomy arisc out of thc loss of capital stock and the dcfcrrcd capital proJcct a110Ca
lor usc in rclief and rchabilitation、
vork
borro、
ving,debt and dcbt chargcs

Thc ccOnOmy is also cffcctcd in thc longcr rtln through increased

This constitlltcs a largc portion of govcmmcnt cxpcnditure Thc high lcvcl if

indcbtcdness and budgct dcflcit、
vas also a rcason for govcmmcnt to changc its cconomic policy dircction to onc
of a cxport led gro、、th and dcvclopmcnt ln sumllla■ /,the impact Of natural disastcrs has had a scrious cffcct onthc cconomy both in thc short and long rllll Thc longcr rtln impact is now compounded by thc factthat ccononlic
policics of the island ccononlics has changed but has yet to delivcr thc desired goals

This papcr examines thesecost sccnarios and suggests possiblc policy options that thc govcmment could takc to lniniinisc thc damagc on thc
cconomy flom thc natttral disasters

Introduction
Natllral disastcrs arc common to thc Paciflc lsland countries and havc causcd nlaJor
ccononlic and social problems to island population. The island nations have a very narro、v
resourccs base and the economics are dependcnt on few commOdities as their mttor inCOmc
sourceThis makcs thclll more v■ lnerable to natllral disasters,and in some cases,can leadto the total collapse of the cconomies. Sincc most of thc island nations arc hcavily rcliant
on the agricultural scctor,natllral disastcrs like cycloncs,drought and flooding affcct thc
agricultural sector the most.
A natural disastcr affccts the island nations in小″o ways.First it destroys a signiflcant
chunk of thc capital stock, 、
vhich is key to the long―terln sustainable development. The
reduction in capital stock has a long run(intcr―
temporal)ilmpact On the economy.Sccondly,in the shOrt run,the overa■ output,Gross Domcstic Product(GDP)of the cOuntry falls.
Whilc speciflc sectors of thc cconomy will have a direct impact, the whole economy(eCOnOmy wide),thrOugh inter‐scctoral linkagcs,win also be affcctcd.Thercfore,any

declinc in CIDP、vill have serious dcvelopmental ilnplications on the fragile econonlic basesof the island nations.Issues such as f00d securiけ,inCOmc,emp10yment and povcrty will
all bc at the limelight.
1)CCntre fOr Dcvclopmcnt Studics,School of SOcial and Economic Dcvclopmcnt,Universiサ OfthC South Paciflc
This papcr was complctcd whilc on an attachmcnt at Kagoshima Univcrsiけ ,Rcscarch Ccntcr for thc Paciflc
lslands, kagoshima,Japan The inding for this attachmcnt was provided by thc Tokyo Foundation,Tokyo,Japan

South Paciflc Sttldy Vo1 21,No l,2000

This paper examines the cconomic social cost of natural disastcrs on Ftti.Th
section of thc paper provides overview of the natural disasters that FJi has fac
last three dccades and the loss in output and capital stock occlllrrCd during these period The
second section ofthe papcr uses a simplc GDP model ofthc cconomy to estilnate the impactof loss in capital stock on the economy. The third section provides summary and policy
implications.

The Economy and Natural Disasters in Fli
F」it ccOnOmy is heavily reliant on the ag五 cultllral sector for the growth and develop―
mcnt ofthc country.Appro対mately 19%ofthe GDP(Table l)arC derived from this sector
and a largc portion of the population,cither directly or indirectly eam their living froln this
sector. Through intcr―sectoral linkagcs, the agricultural sector is strongly linked to thc
non―agricultural sector.
Tあ lc l Rcal GDP(F$m)by aCt市

ity,1995‐1998
1995

1996

1997

362 8

369.5

3213

Activity

Agriculture,Forcstry and Fishcrics

1998
305.0

Mining and Quarrying

46.7

612

62.7

502

Manufacturing

267 7

2769

2747

2643

77.0

790

814
946

Elcctricity and Wttcr

71 5

Building and Construction

81 4

WЪ olcsale alld Rctail,Tradc,Rcstaurant and Hotcls
Transport and Communications

160 3
222 7

Finance,Insurance,Rcal Estatc and Business Scrviccs

256 9Collllnunity Social and Pcrsonal ScⅣices

355 40thcrs

14.7

Lcss lmputed Scr/icc Chargcs

‑1392

TOtal
Date sourcc:ReseⅣ

1838.8

769

826

1639

1742

2363

2472

2597

2553

2372

2451

3566

3646

3635

15.2
‑137.2
18971

1848

150
‑121.4146‑1268

1864.918406

c Banlc Quarterly,RcscⅣ c Bank Of Fti,1980‑98

Econonlic Cost:PIacro Level″′sゎεたιοss,″ οz″ν′α′グ6のリブ

ooding andF」i facCS three maOr types of natural disasters,cy01oncs/hllrricanes,■
drought. The most common is cycloncs and is often followed by flooding. A su
dcdisinpro宙appendix l.Since 1961,FJi faced 35 natural
the natural disasters since 1970
disastcrs over a pcriod of 39 years. These disasters havc caused thc nation a lotin monetary
terlns. Data on the monctary value ofthc damage are available for Only recent disasters andthesc are presentcd in Table 2.

35
Examinatlon of the Economic Cost of Natural iDisastcrs
in F」
REDDY:NattlrJ Disastcrs and the lslandAnEconomieЫ

Tablc 2 Cost of rcccnt natural disastcrs in FIJi(FSm).
Loss ofCapitalStock

Agricul‐turc

Othcrs

1.7

1.1

T°
tal Gtttip
籍
81

08

1448

H7

02

Flash Flood 1999

53

Drought 1997/98

0

1250

198

Galc lJunc' 1997

NA

NA

NA

1.0

009

0.03

53

640

NA

1540

18.8

71

Cyclone'Gavin11985

19.5

13.9

O.9

343

8.3

2.9

Hu五 canc lEric'1985

NA

NA

NA

400

9.7

3.4

Hurricanc'Oscar11983

NA

NA

NA

800

218

78

Humcanc lKina1 1992/93

NA

Sourcc:DISMAC,Ministv of Regional Dcvclopmcnt and Multi―
FlliEthnic Affairs,Govcmment Buildings,Suva,

The cost to the nation are in milllons of dollars,rising up to F$154m(in the case of
hurricanc in 1993),with One disastcr alonc.The loss rcsulting from the disaster in 1993
amounted to 7 10/O ofthe countryゝ

GDP.Natural disasters can be vely damaging if it hits

the engine of growth of any economy. The natural disaster in 1997/98 did nothing less than
this. The effect ofit,coupled with other extemal shocks,led to a recession in the economy.
The negat市 e GDP growth in FJiin 1997 and 1998 of‑1.7 and‑1.3 rcspect市

ely(Table

3)is a clear renection ofthe effect ofthe drought on the economy宙a the agriculture sector
This disaster、″as equivalent to ll.7%of total govemment expenditure in 1998.
The unit cost of loss in capital on C}DP can also be modened quantitatively.

Thcrelationship beい″een capital,labour,natural disaster and C}DP are modened by the follow―
ing linear equation:

GDPt=/(Lt,に,Dll,D2t)(1)
Where GDPt =G■ oss Domestic Product of Fli in year t(in milllons of FS);
Lt =Total Paid Employment in year t(in milliOns);
Kt =Gross Capital Formation in ycar t(in milliOns of FS);
Dlt=Natural Disastcr Dummy Variable(1=Natural Disaster,0=Otherwisc);and,
D2t=Coup Dummy Variable(1=COup year,0=Othenvise).
И′′′ο′ちthe Signs ofthe variables IL t and Kt are expected to be positive. This implics
that an increase in labour force and capital stock win have a positive effect on economic
gronth. Both thc dummy variables are cxpected to havc ncgative signs. For the case ofvill reduce C}1〕
P.Similarly,an occurrence of any
D lt,an occurrence of a natural disaster、
political instability in the country will also affect economic growth negat市ely.
The estirnated linear model is as ibHows:
GDPt=198.9+12823Lt+0.7821(‑16.41Dlt‑74.82D2t(2)

ori expcctations. The model shows a
The signs of all the variables conforln to a p五
good it(R2of 91%)and thC Variables Lt,Kt and Dlt are signiicant at 5%level.The
cstimated model(2)indiCates that on an average,a namral disaster reduccs GDP by″雰 ′θrめ塔 ・This is equ市alent to l.2%of mean GDP(mean Ofthe GDP
FS16.4m,ε θ′variable).The 10ss in capital due to natural disasters can also bc simulated and its impact
on GDP derived.A loss of capital stock by FS50m would reduce GDP by 4.10/O at mean

Sollth Paciic Study Vo1 21,No l,2000

levels of labour variable,nO coup scenario and a natural disaster sccnario. A preceding
analysis rcvcals the gravity of natural disastcrs On thc cconomy.

G οッθ′′″ι′′E η θ″冴′
夕′の B 夕 α D グ εブ
′α′グD θb r
̀なApart frolm thc direct impact on C}】〕P and capital stock,there are also other econOmy、
vide ilnpact of natural disaster. On of the ilnpact is on govemment budget and debt.
Folowing a natural disaster,rehabilitation、
vOrk.

additional inding is also required to flnance relief andFunding for this cOuld cOme frOm three sources, Extemal Aid,

Govemmcnt inding and 10cal NGOs. Govemmcnt flnances the relicf and rehabilitation、
vork from h″o sOurces,flrstly,by additiOnal borrOwing and secondly fronl capital expendi―

ture allocated for Othcr
eCtS pr●by all the Ministrics.This mcans that duc to thedisaster,important capital
ectSpr●are now put on hold so that allocated inds can now
uscd to repair and build the lost capital. In addition tO the abovc,if Extemal Aid,redcploy―
mcnt of ttds and ttds from NCJOs are not sufflcient,thcn govemment resorts to addi―
tional borrowing to flnance thc relief and rehabilitatiOn work. The additional boFOWing,
while increasing budget deflcit,contributcs tO increasing debt and dcbt charges(Table 3).
Increasing debt charges has a 10ng terln budgetary implications.

Tおlc 3 Sclccted cconomic indicators of FJi cconOmy,1985‐
1998
Ycar

1985
1986

FR Position(mOnthS Of

Real GDP
Cro、th〜(%)

Trade
Balance(FSm)

PublicExtcmalDebt(F$m)

Total Go宙
Debt(FSm)

Public Dcbt
Charges(FSm)‑51‑236.5

318.1

NA

648

35

‑‑181 1

332.6

NA

747

4.8
49

8.1

lmports
covel

1987

‑64

‑58.5

4378

NA

89,9

1988

21

‑1201

442.6

NA

159.9

59

1989

129

‑‑165.9

416.8

NA

1272

44

1990

35

‑3319

392.8

NA

121.9

41

1991

‑27

‑2698

3545

8056

1363

5.0

1992

61

‑2761

3244

8435

1235

62

1993

26

‑4255

2795

9238

1530

4.3

1994

51

‑3267

235.1

981.8

1441

38

1995

2.5

‑330.0229.4

1,001.8

1695

48

3.2

51

‑2674

2178

1,1334

1513

1997

‑17

‑4214

2256

1,356.2

1802

1998

‑‑1 3

NA

2773

1,3061

NA

1996

Notc:NA=Data not availablc
Datc source:RcscⅣ e Bank Quartcrly,Rcscwc Bal■

4.8
NA

Of F」i,1980‑98

C}iven the largc numbcr Of natllral disasters that thc cOuntly has faccd,its impact On
debt build―
up cannot b dOubted. The cllrrent debt level is quite high,approxirnately 450/0
of GDP and debt charges resulting from it,around FS150rゴ
ycar,are a serious blow tO theever constraint budget.

REDDr Naturd Disasters cand■lshnd Economics An Examhalon ofthc Economた
Coまof NatlrJ Disastersi h37F」

′
Eχ′
ι′
″α′Иブ
グα″グJグ α′ο′Extemal Aid is rcccived by a country if its declares a state of emergency in the wakc
of a natural disaster. While the positive effects of it are pretty clear,thc ncgative effects of
it are on inflation lcvcls. Sudden innux of aid lnoney increases the l■oney supply and thus
aggregate demand. Thcrcfore,the ReseⅣe Bank needs to be more vigilant、 vith rcspect toiniation control via monctary p01icy.Natural disastcrs also lead to in■ ation、vhcn there isa sudden shortage of agricultural products due to the natural disasters. Sincc Paciflc lsland
countries are quite smaH in area,the natural disasters generally affects thc whole country
Thereforc,this could lead to sudden shortage of agricultural and othcr prOducts that has
been affected by thc disaster.Therefore,a combination Ofboth a cost push and demand pull
innation can have a disastrous impact on the p00r of the society.

θルαる
たBαル″εθα″
グFο″な′Rὼ″ω

Natllral disasters also add on to thc import bill and blow up the trade balancc(Table3). ThiS places the countries foreign reseⅣe under a dangerous position. A healthy foreign
reseA7e position is one,which is ablc to providc approxilnatcly 7 months of import covcr.
Results in table 3 shows that Flit foreign rescⅣ

es havc becn around 5 months on anaverage.

Eco■ olniC and Social Cost:pllicro LevelR ν″κσο θα″グF οθグS θ ′J ヶα′ブ
̀夕Natural disasters have a scriOus irnpact on the agriculture sector and thus on theagrarian population of the island nations FJi is nO CXCCptiOn in this case.Most of the
population livc in the rural area(549る)and arc activcly cngagcd in thc agricultural activities.
videspread and apprOxilnately 1/3 ofthe agricultural GDP
Subsistence farlning is also quite、
is de五ved frolll subSiStence faming Any cxtcmal shock such as a namral disaster will have
V ouldscrious rcpercussion on thcsc agrarian communitys' livelihood. The prilnary impaCtヽ
be on food sccurity. Most ofthese farlners do not have any savings to rely on in scenariosof loss of thcir source of incomc. They arc also not able to meet the critcria2 to apply forthe lillnited amount of social welfarc inds which are dispersed to wclfare recipicnts(FS15‑80/month).During the drought,thc numbcr of applications for wclねre grant

incrcascd signiflcantly(Table 4).

ιo α′a c ヵクルακグルルらたんe s s
Thc second problcm arising out of natllral disasters are default on loan paymcnts andincrcascd indebtedness. A large number of fanmers are highly indcbtcd. If loans provided
by commercial banks and F」

i Dcvclopment Bank are examined,then on an avcrage,

2C五teria for family assistance: 1)PCOplc of 60 ycars and over:2)Dependents of pcoplc who arc in jait3)BrcadWinners who arc chlonically ilt 4)BreadWinncrs who arc scvcrcly disablcd(mcntally Or
physically);5)WidoWS With depcndcnts;6)Womcn WhO havc bccn dcscrted by tllcir husbands;7)All thc
abovc must have littlc or nO means of flnancial support

South Paciflc Sttldy Vo1 21, No l, 2000

outstanding loans alnolmt to FS150… 200m/year(Table 5).
Farlners have small loan accounts、vith local shops and repayments are made whencrop or livestock are sold. Therefore, thcsc transactions fronl local shops are placed injeopardy when the income source is destroyed by thc natural disaster.

Zο
ιルε
ο θ助′
4θ
″
S S グ肋′Natural disasters also crcate hardship at farnily level if the solc income camer is lost
during thc disaster. Thc disastcrs in F」i sinCe 1961 have claiined 237 1ives(TablC 6). Ina traditional socicty, gcncrally the head of the household is the sole breadwinner in thc
falnily.Thcrcforc,loss of thc bread、vinner in the family can be se五ous blo、v to the family
and lead to povcゥ .

D′こο
″メあ Fοr777α
′巳れε
α′
′
ο
フー
Another serious longẗem implication on both the fanlily and thc nation is thc inabilityof parents to send their children to school duc to lack of food and bus farc.UNDP(1998)
report states that of the tota1 80,280 priinary and sccondary school students in thc wcstcm
division,11,126 required assistance、vith food、〃hile 6,753 required assistancc、
vith bus fhrc
(Table 7).
Tablc 4 Wclfarc applicants and nc、
v applications, 1996‑98
Divlslon

Year
1996

1997

1998(Scpt)

Wcstcrn
Total no of Recipicnts

3983

4088

4105

Total no.of Rccipicnts

l177

1019

806

Total no of Recipicnts

2212

2340

2521

Total no of ReciDiCntS

724

627

709

Northcm

Data sotlrce:UNDAC Mission RepO■ :Fli Drought,UNDP,1998
Table 5 Agriculture sector outstanding Loans, 1991‑1998
Ycar

Total Loans Outstanding(FSm)

1991

205.1

1992

2089

1993

2097

1994

214.6

1995

186.1

1996

1782

1997

1372

1998

1404

D a t c s o u r c c : R c scc Ⅳ
B a n k Q u a r t c r l y , R ccs cBⅣ
ank Of FJi,1991‑98
Table 6 No of dcaths arising from natural disastcrs
Ycar

No ofI)caths

1991‑199931

1981‑1990

49

1971‐1980

143

1961‑1970

14

Sourcc:DISMAC,Minis"of Rcgional Developmcnt and Multi―Ethnic Affairs,Govcmmcnt Buildings,Suva,
Ftii

REDDY Nattlral Disasters and thc lsland Economics An Examinalon of thc Economic Cost of Natural Disastcrs in Fui

Tablc 7.No of secondaw and prillla■ /school children affectcd by Drought

Nccd TvDe
Food
Bus fareNo Assisted

No of Stlldcnt
ll,126
6.753

3781
996

Sourcc:UNDAC Mission Reporl:Fili Drought,UNDP,1998

Absenteeism ratc at schools ranged from

5‑150/O in these schools Thc drop‐out ofchildrcn from obtaining forlnal education willhave serious repercussion on thc economy
over the longer run period.

Sulnllllary and Policy lmplications
Natural disastcrs have become a fact of life of the island communitics

There is no

way one can avoid the aftcmath ofit. What can be done is to,flrst,Ininimisc the damage
resulting from it and second to prOvide relicf and rchabilitatc the damage immediatcly after
the disastcr

The damagc could be lninilnised in a number of、

vays. Building strtlcturesneed to be constructed as pcr thc spcciflcation ofthc cnginccrs Thosc who could afford tohire engineers during the construction pcriod and also could afford to make the ncccssa7changes as per thc standards can only do this

Most of thc agrarian population in FJi andothcr island nations arc not able to afford an engineer during thc construction period andthus their houses are not hurricane proo■ An altemative、 vould be to insure thc houses andpropcrty against thc natural disasters. Ho、vever,to do so,thc standards arc to be mct andagain the agrarian poor are left out
The agriculturc sector is in、vorst sccnario at thc momcnt sincc the insurancc compa―
nies in FJi do nOt prOvide crop or livcstock insurancc covcr. The prilllat/reason may be
thc high incidence ofnatural disasters cncountcrcd in thc rcgion. Thcrefore,not inuch could
be donc to miniinise thc direct damage done to the crOp sector from cyclones

Howcvcr,damage from flooding could be reduccd if propcr drainagc is done in nood pronc areas andood damage is adoptcd Further―technological dcvclopments、 vith rcgard to llllinilnising■v during thc rainy season,should be dredged on a pcriodic basis
more,rivers,、vhich overflo、Post disastcr period is also important to prcvent any nュ rther casualties and lninimisc
starvation,disease outbreak and any furthcr impact on the economy. Since it is now fairly
clcar that the probability of natural disaster occurring in any onc year is fairly high,govemment should set up contingency ind to cope up、tation 、vorkvith immediatc rclief and rchabili‐

ln the 2000 budget, the govemment has plans to cstablish a perlnanent

department of disaster managcmcnt

ln addition to this,a amount of FS2m has becn sct

aside to prOvidc immediate rclief operations in the event of any natllral disaster. This iscertainly a stcp in the right dircction However,given the level of damagc natural disasters
cause,this amount secms to be insufflcient,particularly when only the inding is for relicf
work.An additional sum,around FS20m,should be sct asidc for rchあilitation work

Disastcr managemcnt offlce should be furtllcr strcngthcncd with training and resources

on work promptly and efflciently FJi
rclicf and rehabHita●
to enable them toordinatcco―has a fairly large numbcr of NGO communities and thcir cffcctiveness during the pastSouth Paciflc Stlldy Vo1 21, No l, 2000

disasters 、
vas highly conllnended. NGOs such as Rcd Cross, Save the Children Fund,
Church groups and other socia1/charitable organisations carried out a vcry focussed、
v ork
during the drought in Fji in 1998(■nゞDP, 1998). HoweVer,they seems not to agrec onwhat thcir rcspect市e roles shOuld be(NARSEY,1998).WhilC thC DISMAC has a windowof opportunity now,they should take this opportunity to organisc and establish link with all
NCJ()s at an the districts and deflne their rolcs clearly. This will vano、
theln to rcach thenccdy at the cadiest and in a more efflcient and effecuvc manncr.
The provision of food rations, water other emcrgency supplies are what is needed
ilnmcdiately after any disastcr such as■
ood Or hurricanc Ho、 vcver,the relief effort should
not stop there as this is a short―terln solution only. At the national lcvel, food aid must
avoid ccrtain adverse effects and gcnerate certain favouraめle cffccts(EzEKIEL,1988).Thc
adversc cffccts that rnust be avoidcd are:a)diSincentive effects on food production,and(b)dcpcndcncy cffects on food policy.The favourable effects that must be genertted arc:
incrcascd food security,(b)grcater equity,and(c)fastcr dcvclopment.As KoRTEN(1987)
puts it, food and other relief matcrials will only lead to the temporary alleviation of thesymptoms of undcrdcvclopment. Thcrcfore, lor example, for an agricultural communi、
the relief supplics should includc seeds, fertiliscrs some basic farln equipmentt、Thiswould enhancc thc long―tem dcvclopment ofthc coml■llnity
Since agriculturc、
vill continuc to play an important role in cnhancing the livelihood of
the rural population and also cOntribute to the growth and development of thc country,
govcmment should scriOusly look into provision of insurance covcr for the agricultllral
sector. Effects from natural disasters such as drought can be minilniscd to a great extent ifwaters resources in the country can be better managed Wtter shortage in Ftti is nOt a
problem. Rather,it is more of extraction,Inanagcment and distribution of this resource a

problem.F」i nccdS tO make signiicant investmcnt on irrigation to minimise damagc
agricultural sector in Ftti during thc drought.The country can gain a lot iom botechnology developed in othcr countっ /and nlinilnising damage from natural disasters is onc
area、vhcrc it could be of grcat value.
Goverlment could also exanline the possibility of an insurancc scheme、

vhich could

cover damages arising out of an natural disaster. Duc to high indcbtcdness and povc吻
lcvcl in the agrarian communities,govcmment inter■ 7cntion is necessary to get this initiativeof the ground. In thc longer run,it、 vould rcduce much largcr burden Of the shOuldcrs of
the govcmmcnt. Insurance policics could cither be takcn up by individuals or in groups
such as co¨operativcs.

References
EzEKIEL,H.1988.An approach to a food aid strategy.World lDevelopment,16, 1377‑1387.
KoRTEN,D.C. 1987.Third gencration NGO strategies:A kcy to people―

ccntrcd develop―

mcnt. World Development, 15, 145‑159.
NARSEY,W.1998.State,NGOs must agrcc on national disaster roles.7pp,FJi TimCS,
Thursday October 15.

REDDY:Natllral Disastcrs and thc lsland Economics:An Examination of thc Economic Cost of Nattlral Disastcrs in

Reselve Bank of FJl 1977‑1999.Quarterly rcvicw.76pp,ReseⅣe Banlc of Fli

UNDP 1998.UNDP mission report FJi drought,48pp,UNDP.

Appcndix l Profllc of natural disastcrs
i, 1970‑1999
in F」
No Tシ pc and Pcriod Arcas AffectedlWholo of FJi

Hurricanc̀Bcbc'
23‑29/10/72
2

11urricane
̀Lottic'

Southcm partsof FllFactors

Dcgrcc of l)isaster

Galc toScvcrc ■ooding inヽ/iti Lcvul cxtensivc
hurricanc forcc damagc to intastructurc and root crops
wlnds
Flooding
Hllrricanc forcc 2 vcssels sunk;70 dcaths
winds

9‑10/12/1973
3 Hurricanc̀Val' Ccntral to
31 Jan‑2 Feb,
Southcm Lau,
1975
Southem partsof Viti Lcvu
4 Hurricanc̀Bctり
5‑6 April,1975' SOuthwcstcm
Viti Lcvu,
Kadaャυ,Southcm Lau

Hurricanc forcc Extcnsivc damagc in Lau group and、vinds
Kadavu;l dcath

Ncar hurricanc Extensivc damagc in Kadavu; a small
forcc、vinds
tomado causcd somc damage in Yako
Tornadovillagc closc to Nadi

5

11urricanc̀Bob'
4‑5 Jan, 1978

6

Stom ̀Fay'
29‑30
Dcccmbcr,1978

Rotuma,Eastcm Vanua
Lcvu,
Tavcnuni,Lau
Group

Storrn forcc

HurricancSouthcm

Hurricanc forcc lnfrastmcturc damagc and■ ood damagc
in Viti Lcvu; 1 l vessels cithcr lost,dam―
surgc
agcd,sunk or groundcd;52 dcaths
Landslidcs
Flooding

7

̀Meli'26‑28

ⅣIarch, 1979

8 Storlll̀Tia'
24・ March,
1980

Wcstcm Viti
Storln forcc
A possiblc tomado dcmolishcd sevcral
Lcvtl,Yasawas, winds,possibly houscs in Sabcto ncar Nadi; l dcath
Mamanuca
tomado
Group
、
vinds
Flooding
Stom
surgc

Mttor
■00ding in Vanua Lcvu andTavcuni;coastal damagc in Lau groups

islands of i,
F」、
vinds Storln

Southcm andSouthcastcm
Viti Lcvtl
Vanua Lcvu,
Northern andCcntral Lau

9 Galc̀Wally'
Viti Lcvu,
3‑5 Apr, 1980
Yasawas,islands off
Southcm
Viti Lcvu

Stom forcc
Flooding in all coastal rivers of Viti Lcvu、
vindsfrom Korolevu to Nausori; scvcral fatal
Flooding Stom landslidcs: cxtCnsivc damagc to mainsurgc
high、vayi considcrable loss of livcstock,
Landslidcs
pastLlrC and crops; 2■lissing and 14
dcathsiti Lcwu
Galc to forcc Flooding in an coastal rivcrs ofヽ″
winds
from Korolevu to Nausori:several fatal
Flooding
landslidcs; cxtCnsive damagc to main
Landslides
highway; considcrablc loss of livcstock,
pasturc and crOps; 2 1nissing and 14
dcaths42

South Paciflc Study Vo1 21, No l, 2000

Appcndix l(COntinued.)No

Typc and Pc五od

10 Hurricanc
̀Arthur'

Arcas Affcctcd
Wcstcm onc
third of Viti
Lcvu,Yasawas,

13‑16 Jan, 1981

Mamanucagroup,Kadavu

Wcstcrn andSouthwcstcm
Viti Levu,

1l Hurricanc
̀Oscar 26

Fcb‐2 Mar, 1983

Mamanucagroup,Kadavu.

Hurricanc orConsidcrablc dalnagc to infrastructllre;
ncar huコricanc disruption to col■lmuniCation in somc
force winds.
placcsFlooding
Storln tO
Scvcrc nOod damagc in to、 vns in Viti
hurricanc forcc Lcvu; widcsprcad dalllagc to d、 vclling、vlnds
and infrastructure, livestock, crops, for―
Torrcntial
cstry and vcgctation;disruptions to water
rain. Flooding supply and communication;considcrablc
Storrn surge
coastal erosion;9 dcaths
Stollln to galc Widcsprcad damage to crops,vegctation
forcc winds
and building in Lau Group

March,1983

Eastcm parts of
Vanua Lcvu,
Lau group

Drought 1983

NA

NA

NA

Hurrlcanc Eric
14‐19 Jan, 1985

Wcstcm Fli,
Viti Lcvu,
Southcm Lau,
Yasawas andGalc tohurricanc forcc
wlnds
Flooding

Pania1 0r cOmplete destruction of vil―lagcs,buildings,Nadi Airport hangcr andothcr infrastructurc;disrtlptions of power
supply, radio rcccption to thc wcstcm
Viti Lcvu, communications and watcr
supply in somc placcs; damagc or dc―
stmction to forcstryi crops and livestock
losses due to flooding; 3 Govemment
vessels either sunk or groundcd; 25
deaths;Western andSoullwcstcm
parts of Fji

Galc tO winds
Torrcntial rain
Flooding
Landslidcs

Scvcrc vvidcsprcad flooding in Viti Lcvu;
damagc to somc pO、 vcr and communica‐tion lincs, crops and vegetation; closurcof scvcral roads,bridgcs and both main
airports duc to flooding; 3 dcaths; 71nlsslng.

Drought 1987

NA

NA

NA

Drought1992

NA

NA

NA

Huricanc

̀Sarah' 25‑28

14

Dcgrcc of Disastcr

Factors

Mamanucas

16 Storrn ̀(]avin'
3‐8 March 1985

19 Humcanc̀Kina' Wholc of Fll
26 Dcc‑5Jan, 1992/93

Hudcanc force Extens市 e flooding in maJor五 vcrs;de―、vinds Flood― struction to Ba and Sigatoka bridgcs lcd

ing High tides to mttor diSruption to transportationand Landslidcs Eastcrn and Wcstcm Divisions; land―
slidcs cut road access to inland; alinostloss
of crop in
Sigatoka andNavua/Nausori arcas;mttOr 10ss of livc―
stock; signiflcant infrastructure damage;
23 dcaths

Drought1993

NA

Galc̀01i'
Southwestcm
15‑18 Fcb, 1993 parts of Viti
Lcvu

NA

NA

Galc forcc
Some damagc to bridgcs at Ba,Nadroga
winds
and Sigatoka
Tortorential
rain Flooding

R E D D Y : N a m a l D I s a s t e r s a n d m c l s i a n d E c o n o m l e t t A n E x a m l n a t l o n o f t h e E c o n o n u 4c 3 C o s t o f N

Appendix l.(COntinued.)od

No. Type and Pc五
23 Gale ̀June'
3‐
5 May,1997

Areas Affected
Yasawas,Matnanucagroup,
Northwcstcm
Viti Levu,
southem partsof FJi24 Drought 1997/98

25 Flash Flood Jan,
1999

Western
Vitilevu andVanua Levu

Western
Vitilevu

Factors

Degree of Disaster

Gale force
Dalnages to crops and iniastructure.
whds.
Torrential ram

Zero raln

Extensive damage to crop and livestock.
Shortagc of water for houschold use.

Flooding
landslides

Extcnsive damage to shops,houses, in―iasmcm and agnculture.

Ettmic AIttrs,Govenlment Builangs,suva,
Source:DISMAC,Mhistty of Rcgional Dcvclopmcnt and Muiti―
Fti
NA=InfomaJo■

not availablc