1

http://fijitimes.com.fj/story.aspx?ref=archive&id=155525

 

Health fears 

Samantha Rina 
Thursday, September 09, 2010 

Where water once flowed ... Shankar Pratap, 61, shows 

the dry creek at Qerelevu in Ba yesterday. Picture: JAI PRASAD 

 

THE Fiji Meteorological Service has warned that outbreaks of diarrhoea and dengue 
fever are anticipated as a result of prolonged dry weather conditions. 

Climate special services and research division manager Dr Sushil Sharma said reports of 
diarrhoea and dengue fever were already being received from Vanuabalavu in the Lau 
group. 

He said the dry season was expected to continue for another two to three months and they 
did not expect any marked improvement during this period. 

"We anticipate that the 2009-2010 drought will have by the end of October 2010 
surpassed the 1998 drought in terms of socio-economic and other impacts over Fiji, 
especially the agricultural sector," he said. 

"We also anticipate the outbreak of diarrhoea and dengue fever and some reports are 
already coming in from Vanuabalavu." 

Dr Sharma said the drought conditions were expected to break in December 2010 to 
January 2011 with two months of normal wet season rainfall. 

"With the impacts of La Nina conditions expected to impact the coming wet season, we 
expect average to above average rainfall in the December 2010 to April 2011 wet season 
period," he said. Dr Sharma said hydrological droughts ù the most extreme form of 
drought ù were already in place about eight to nine months ago for majority of stations 
including Viwa Island, Yasawa-i-Rara, Nacocolevu, Nadi Airport, Rarawai, Penang, 
Vatukoula, Suva, Navua, Savusavu, Lakeba and Matuku. He said Viwa, Yasawa-i-Rara 
and Savusavu stations were ranked as having the worst drought records so far