5 Jan 2016

Seeds to be sent to Fiji cyclone zone

3:45 pm on 5 January 2016

The Fiji government will send planting material to the Southern Lau group by the end of the week, after the area was hit by Cyclone UIa.

The National Disaster Management Office director Akapusi Tuifagalele says the storm blew some roofs off and two houses were blown over during the weekend but most of the islands escaped major damage.

Mr Tuifagalele says a government team will visit the islands of Kabara, Namuka, Fulaga, Ogea, Vatoa and Ono-i-Lau to conduct further assessments.

He says the Ministry of Agriculture will assist as crops have been damaged.

"These are not big plantations.They are more subsistence in type but definitely the Ministry of Agriculture will be taking some seeds and also some planting materials across to the islands to ensure that is not too long that those plantations go back to normal."

Cyclone Ula is weakening to a category two system south of Fiji and has now turned into a west northwesterly direction on which it is forecast to move for the next three days.