THE RECENT DISASTER

Evening Post, Issue 51, 2 March 1931, Page 10

THE RECENT DISASTER

REMARKABLE FEATURES

EXCEPTIONAL VIOLENCE

(Specially Written for "The Post.") Although every South Sea Island is subject 'to hurricanes of varying degrees of intensity during the season ■between November and April, the last visitation on Fiji has been of exceptional violence. In November, 1929, the south-eastern portion of the main island, Viti Lcvu, suffered; heavily from what was considered one of tho most severe hurricanes in the history of the group, but the death roll was not nearly so great as that reported last week. AREA AFFECTED. This time the most sorely afflicted area is the northern and -western part of Viti Levu round Ba, Lautoka, and Sigatoka, about one ■ hundred miles north-west of Suva. It is unfortunato that these are such valuable districts of tho group, for'the factory of the Colonial Sugar Refinery Company is situated at Lautoka, and the two mainareas suitable for cotton on tho island of Viti Levu are served by two cotton ginneries—one at Lautoka, the other at the mouth of tho fertile Singatoka Eiver valley. The Ba-Lautoka traiu, which was blown off the rails, is the property of the Colonial Sugar Hennery Company, an Australian firm which built its first factory there in 1833. In the Ba and Liautoka districts, extending from the Tavua Eiver to the Sigatoka, and covering about 130 miles of coast line, the sugar lands, aggregating some 54,000 acres, lio chiefly on the banks of numerous rivers and creeks, linked up> by the'company's 370 miles of permanent railway. Owing to tho uncertainty of labour after tho indenturo system ceased,1 the company's1 original policy of encouraging the production of cane by the Europeans had to cease. Most of the land then vacated by the European planters was leased in ten-acre holdings to Indians, who now provide about two-thirds of tho cane sent to the factory. Almost certainly this area will be totally ruined by the Ba Eiver, which is reported to have risen forty feet. RAPID RISE OF RIVER. Some idea of the phenomenal rapidity with which rivers rise in these regions during tho hurricane will be gathered from the report of- tho 1929 disaster, when the Rcwa Biver rose at the rate of 2ft an hour to tho height of 35ft. One of the company's tugs was dispatched up the river to rescue a party of marooned natives and Europeans. The Indian skipper steered his. vessel over the flooded taro arid pinenpplc fields, drew alongside the garden fenco- of the District Commissioner's house, took the refugees abroad, and went flying back to Suva before the gale across the raging torrent. Tho chief difficulty with the natives is their belief in the policy of "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Depending almost entirely on the products of their plantations, tho Pijians and Indians of outlying districts may find themselves living in abundance one hour-and totally destitute'the next. A hurricano invariably destroys their mango, ' banana, and breadfruit trees :ihd ruins their taro and knmala plots, leaving them entirely ■ dependent upon tinned supplies which cannot last more than a week or two. Tho Fijian never considers the advisability of putting aside for a windy day. He is sorely affocted by the "malua" fever, which we in New Zealand call "taihoa." RELIEF WORK. Owing to difficulty of communication between tho villages scattered throughout tho outlying islands, it will take at least a month to assess the damage done. In 1929, some of the rural.districts could not be visited by the District Commissioners till six weeks after the hurricane, and it was at least three months before supplies could be sent to isolated :areas. A scale of rations was fixed for Indians and Fijians—rice, sugar, and salt being distributed on v moderate scale to encourage self-help, but special supplies of milk and sugar were issued for children. Many of the villages refused assistance, while the others accepted with some reluctance, somewhat mystified by the arrangement of paying for -food long ago consumed. The Fijian lives essentially for the day, and the intricacies of credit he regards, with grave suspicion. Each village is. run by a "buli," or mayor, who, with the assistance of the sub-chiefs, sends returns to the Government. As every "buli" had to be interviewed separately and arrangements made for every individual village, the process of rendering assistance is laborious and cumbersome. The Fijian hut or "bui-i" is singularly well constructed —a stout crosspiece resting on heavy uprights forms tho roof. As an iron roof is an infallible sign of Fijian gentility and prosperity, many of the dwellings arc now covered in tho European manner. Tho added solidarity thus gained renders the houses safer in a hurricane. In 1929, many of the old type of "buri" which were strong enough to resist the hurricane itself later collapsed owing to the weight of the water absorbed by the thatched roofs. But the sunny nature and unfailing good humour of tlie native will ■undoubtedly help him to rebuild his ruined villages and plant his taro on the fertile flood plains, consoled by the thought that a hurricane comes but once a year.