More than one thousand people in Fiji town of Labasa are reported to be starving a week after Cyclone Ami devastated the northern and eastern islands of the country.
The Fiji Times says soldiers at the bulk store where emergency relief is stored said late yesterday they were waiting for reports from the Disaster Management Centre, DISMAC, before they could distribute the food.
A senior military officer, who did not want to be named, said the DISMAC reports would give them a fair idea of which areas need to get food, in what order and how much per family.
Nine container loads of basic food like flour, rice, milk, lentils, tinned fish and cooking oil have already arrived in Labasa and are instorage.
More than 100 soldiers have been deployed ready to begin distribution once approval has been given.
Another report says police had to disperse a crowd of starving people who had gathered at the Labasa rubbish dump to collect food stocks damaged in last week's floods.
