Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Fijians warned more heavy rain coming

Updated at 8:57 pm on 30 January 2012

Weather forecasters in Fiji are warning of landslides and flooding as more heavy rain and high winds head towards the island nation.

Fiji is still clearing up after last week's deluge which caused heavy flooding.

Six people died including a family of four who were buried under a landslide near the town of Ba.

Fifteen evacuation centres remain open and a state of natural disaster remains in force for Western parts of Viti Levu.

Senior forecaster at the Fiji Meteorological Service Amit Singh says rain from a slow-moving depression near Vanuatu is already affecting the country and will be at its heaviest on Wednesday.

Mr Singh says up to 300 millimetres is expected over the whole group in a 24-hour period.

The rain is expected to be accompanied by strong winds gusting up to 80 kms per hour.

The bad weather to date is estimated to have caused more than $US17 million in damage to infrastructure and crops.

The interim government in Fiji says, however, it is in a good position to cope with more heavy rain.

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