Villagers of Lavena in Taveuni successfully carried out a live simulation of a tsunami drill this morning as part of the national disaster awareness.
About 350 villagers consisting of men, women, children and the elderly participated in a first ever tsunami drill to be undertaken in a rural community in Fiji.
Turaga ni koro(Village head) Petero Waisea, said the village disaster response committee had drawn up a plan for disaster evacuation and the simulation exercise spearheaded by the National Disaster Management office, as part of the national disaster awareness exercise this year presented them with an opportunity to test themselves.
About 130 students from Lavena Primary school including pre-schoolers were also part of the exercise which required them to assemble on the village ground and to run as quickly as they can into the hills above the village compound. The hill is estimated to be around 200 meters above the village grounds.
Acting Director NDMO Litiana Bainimarama said Lavena village was one of the villages badly affected in the height of TC Winston in 2016 and most of the village houses were either blown away or destroyed extensively.
“So the exercise is a significant one in the sense of preparedness because Lavena village location is considered vulnerable because their reef is close to the village shores and they can experience any kind of storm surge or even tsunami at any time, ” Ms Bainimarama said.
“As such, the NDMO has provided capacity building for the village including a structure approach, a village disaster committee and a standard operating procedure for the school. ”
Lavena school head teacher Ilaisa Deke said it was new and good experience for the students because even though disaster management is already part of the school curriculum it was a first time experience for them to actually test their knowledge in real time.
A group of agencies supported the drill which included the disciplined forces, military, police and fire and also the ministry of health, USP and Fiji Roads Authority.
KEY MESSAGE ON TSUNAMI
- Ensure everyone in your community knows the warning signs - an earthquake, a rise or fall of coastal water and a roaring sound as the tsunami rushes towards shore.
- Do not stay in coastal and low-lying areas after an earthquake has been felt - move to high ground IMMEDIATELY. If the earthquake occurs close to the coast, you will have very little time to run.
- Coastal communities and schools should plan a safe area on high ground and multiple routes to the safe area.
- A tsunami is a series a waves - so stay out of coastal and low-lying areas for at least 3 hours until the waves pass and authorities have given an all clear to return.
- If you are in a boat offshore, do not return to shore – the vessel is safe out in the open ocean.