SUVA: The official death toll in Fiji from a weekend storm rose to 18 Jan.5 when two brothers drowned trying to save their cattle from floodwaters. Six fishermen were missing from Saturday’s storm and presumed dead.
The National Disaster Management Council said cyclone Kina was the worst storm to hit the South Pacific nation since 1936, with damages expected to exceed $70 million.
The government, which declared a state of emergency covering most of the nation, said a quarter of Fiji’s 770,000 people might need emergency aid. Three major bridges linking the east and west of the main island of Viti Levu were washed away or damaged by flooding.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 8, 1993
