24 Apr 2012

Fiji Red Cross estimates 17,000 in Nadi had homes submerged by floods

7:15 am on 24 April 2012

The acting director general of Fiji's Red Cross says 17,000 people in Nadi alone had water completely submerge their houses in last month's flooding.

Six people died and thousands fled to evacuation centres during last month's severe flooding on the main island, which followed floods in January that killed eight and caused widescale evacuation.

Christopher Ho says along with helping people to clean up the Red Cross is trying to arrange counselling services.

He says the organisation is doing the best it can but nothing is enough.

"We're looking at even trying to provide people with bedding or foams. When they're moving out of these evacuation centres into their houses, what do they sleep on? If the flood levels have reached their roofs, obviously all your bedding and other things would have been totally destroyed."

Christopher Ho says he's heard reports that there have been cases of water-borne diarrhoeal diseases but nothing has been substantiated.