Fiji Sun Online 11th April 2018
Many had hoped that 2018 would not be hit by natural disasters. But Tropical Cyclone Josie and now Tropical Cyclone Keni have dashed that hope.
The Western Division first felt the brunt of TC Josie. Now it is feeling the impact of TC Keni’s fury.
All these natural disasters cost us heavily in terms of human lives and damage to properties, crops, buildings and infrastructure. In other words, they hit our economy hard.
The cost of damage would probably run into millions of dollars. Government has already started providing relief and rehabilitation in those areas already hit by TC Josie.
It has also warned people to expect the worst as the weather pattern keeps changing because of climate change. It has been scientifically proven that climate change is caused by human activities that upset the balance of nature. Increased carbon emissions are blamed for global warming, sea level rise and wild weather events.
While our carbon emissions are negligible compared with those recorded for more developed and richer industrialised countries, we bear the full force of climate change-induced natural disasters. It is not fair, but that’s the reality we have to live with.
While Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has put a lot of focus on our predicament, his Government has made adjustments to try to cushion the impact of natural disasters. It is not sitting around just talking, it is doing something about it.