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Hurricane Tomas Taveuni Report
I think I can safely say that Taveuni had it at a Category 5, when the airport tower went down the winds were clocking in at 170 knots/205mph/300kmph. It engulfed the whole island. I have been in my fair share of Taveuni hurricanes and none of them had anything on this one. We all though Ami was bad, in comparison it was a cake walk.
The back end of Tomas was horrific. We were in our complete conrete Gen shed and at 4:30 in the morning that started to shiver with sustained winds. It uprooted one of the coconut trees and flew it about 30 feet. I thought it was well and truly over and everything would be flattened.
But by some miracle when we finally emerged after the almost 24 hours it was peaking, all the permanent structures were still standing. I think because for the most part the wind direction had hit our profile with most properties looking out to sea. Had it come straight on, I think it would have been much worse.
So aside from the cacophony of chain saws, hammering, everything seems to be getting back to normal. All the resorts are operational, stores are open, taxia are running. But our garden island has been pretty much pruned, but the views are massive now. The less sturdy structures took a beating or blew out especially for the locals and some that you never thought would stand are still standing.
But all in all given the strength and the duration of Hurricane Tomas, I think Taveuni got off lucky. Not that it was unaffected, it was and is, but it could have been so much worse. Only in Fiji do you get a disaster like this and after a week everything is back to operational and open for business, especially when you think of hurricanes like Katrina, Andrew and Iniki where it was months and years before things returned to normal. The resilency of the people of Fiji is amazing!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Scott Putnam on -
Thanks for the story Roberta. I was thinking of you often as the cyclone passed over. Did the eye pass over Taveuni - or was it further to the east (Laucala or even further out)? Also, were there 25' waves and 12' of surge, as reported?
My first trip to Taveuni was 8 weeks after Ami. The foliage had already grown back (trimmed, of course), but underwater, it was bleak. I remember hearing stories from the villagers of them clinging to their beds after the roofs had blown away. Tomas, unlike Amy, kept going and going - I just can't imagine hearing the noise and vibration of a freight train and enduring the stinging rain for such a duration. It must have done a number on the nerves.
Glad you and your family are OK.
Best-
Scott
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Permalink Reply by Roberta Davis on -
Oh yes the eye passed over us, it was so large it was over 2 hours long and then the larger and noisier freight train came bearing down on us. The waves were 25 feet with at at least a 12 foot surge, there is sand all the way across the road in some areas.
I just came back from checking out the nearby reefs and yes there is damage but not as bad as I expected. The 1998 Hurricane Gavin turned it into a boneyard and the waves were about the same. Although there is obvious wreckage, the good news is there are enough roots left for the coral to regrow and some areas are still abundant WHEW and my huge anenome that I have never seen anywhere else in the world is still there, the colony is albeit smaller, but still large enough. The reef about 100 yards offshore is flattened. Then the further out you go, it gets better. But once again I am very glad so much of the reef survived, it was very lucky indeed.. Lots of coral cuttings down there. The fish population still looked good.
To finally answer your question that I never saw...we don't use stainless hooks so that in case the line breaks or we have to cut a fish loose in the case of the Bronzie, the hook will rust out in a few days, usually it is hooked on the lip so they still are able to feed. I guess they just look like a bit Gothic, styling and profiling with hook lip piercings to impress their fishy friends.
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Permalink Reply by Robert F. Kay on -
Bula Roberta...
Thanks for the update. Glad you guys made out ok. Will give you a jingle...I'm in Nadi for a day or two...
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Permalink Reply by Roberta Davis on
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The resilency of people in Fiji is absolutely amazing. A lot of people are back in business, we are about 3 days from being back in business, actually we could be back to business but about 3 days from being back to normal. It was a nice quiet Sunday where everyone put down their chainsaws and hammers for a bit of a break and I would imagine there was a bit of nap taking today.
It never ceases to amaze me that after a cyclone everyone drags themselves out dog tired and starts putting everything back in order.
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Permalink Reply by Betsy Walsh on -
My husband and I are in the process of planning at trip to Tavenui in late July but now we are rethinking this vacation. We could go the following summer. We were on Kaua'i in '92 a month before Iniki struck. We have been to that island a lot since the hurricane but did not go the summer of '93 because of all the damage. Even now there are still remnants of the damage from Iniki. Since we are spending a lot of money on this vacation, we are hoping for the most optimal conditions. It is good to hear how resilient the Fijians are! Sounds like an incredible event of Mother Nature.
Roberta Davis said:Oh yes the eye passed over us, it was so large it was over 2 hours long and then the larger and noisier freight train came bearing down on us. The waves were 25 feet with at at least a 12 foot surge, there is sand all the way across the road in some areas.
I just came back from checking out the nearby reefs and yes there is damage but not as bad as I expected. The 1998 Hurricane Gavin turned it into a boneyard and the waves were about the same. Although there is obvious wreckage, the good news is there are enough roots left for the coral to regrow and some areas are still abundant WHEW and my huge anenome that I have never seen anywhere else in the world is still there, the colony is albeit smaller, but still large enough. The reef about 100 yards offshore is flattened. Then the further out you go, it gets better. But once again I am very glad so much of the reef survived, it was very lucky indeed.. Lots of coral cuttings down there. The fish population still looked good.
To finally answer your question that I never saw...we don't use stainless hooks so that in case the line breaks or we have to cut a fish loose in the case of the Bronzie, the hook will rust out in a few days, usually it is hooked on the lip so they still are able to feed. I guess they just look like a bit Gothic, styling and profiling with hook lip piercings to impress their fishy friends.
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Permalink Reply by Robert F. Kay on
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I was just in Fiji a week ago. Yes there were parts of Fiji where the Tomas did some damage but most of Fiji was spared. I didn't notice a thing different in Nadi or Suva and I was there over Xmas. I live in Hawaii and am well aware of what Iniki did. You can't really compare Tomas and Iniki. Completely different scenarios. I think Roberta would agree. I wouldn't let Tomas influence my travel plans at all.
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Permalink Reply by Betsy Walsh on
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We are looking at a stay on Tavenui and at Qamea. These islands appeared to be in the path of the cyclone and from what I have read in the Fiji papers, received significant damage. My husband is a scuba diver and is looking forward to exploring new dives off the coast of Fiji. Last summer we went to Grand Cayman Island where he found the diving to be exceptional.
We both are interested in experiencing the culture of wherever we travel. I am a music teacher and enjoy bringing back new musical experiences to my classroom.
Robert F. Kay said:I was just in Fiji a week ago. Yes there were parts of Fiji where the Tomas did some damage but most of Fiji was spared. I didn't notice a thing different in Nadi or Suva and I was there over Xmas. I live in Hawaii and am well aware of what Iniki did. You can't really compare Tomas and Iniki. Completely different scenarios. I think Roberta would agree. I wouldn't let Tomas influence my travel plans at all.
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Permalink Reply by Roberta Davis on
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Betsy if your husband loved the Caymans he is going to go nuts over the diving on the Rainbow Reef in Taveuni. Not to worry it is safe to come, the flowers have already started blooming, leaves are sprouting, the birds are singing and all the resorts are cleaned up. The only damage you will see now is primarily fallen trees in the bush. Taveuni is so resililent that if it is your first time here, you would hardly know there was a hurricane. By the time you come in July all signs of it will be gone. One little word of advice if you are coming making your reservations early, because July is the top of peak season with many people making reservations now, so that they can get their top picks.
With Kauai, it is odd how a hurricane can actually be more devastating in a well populated area, with homes that weren't all up to code that relies on an electric Company. No electricity really does slow down the recovery process whereas in Taveuni, after the hurricane is gone everyone fires up their generators and gets down to cleaning up to erase all memory of the event. For the most part everyone builds their permanent structures for hurricanes. This sometimes means we don't get to have architecturally fancy buildings, because hurricane winds get caught in all the nooks and crannies, but our simple designs tend to hold. So no worries, come on down you both will love Taveuni, there is so much to do, and if you are divers then plan to come for at least 10 days so you can kind of get some of the best dives in and still have fun hiking, snorkeling, horseback riding or reading a book in a hammock.
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