DEALING WITH HURRICANE RESPONSE IN FIJI JOHN R. CAMPBELL GOVERNMENT OF FIJI • SUVA PACIFIC ISLANDS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM EAST-WEST CENTER • HONOLULU Dealing with Disaster Dealing with Disaster Hurricane Response in Fiji JOHN R. CAMPBELL Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Campbell, John R., 1951- Dealing with disaster. Bibliography: p. 1. Disaster relief—Fiji. 2. Hurricane protection—Fiji I. Title. HV555.F53C35 1984 363.3'492 84-10205 ISBN 0-86638-058-2 V Contents List of figures ix List of tables xi Foreword xv Preface xvii Conventions xxiii PART 1 Background I 1 TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES IN FIJI 3 Land and Population 3 Characteristics of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes 8 The Destructiveness of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes 11 Temporal Distribution of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes in Fiji 14 Magnitude of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes in Fiji 18 Spatial Distribution of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes in Fiji 18 Tropical Storms and Hurricanes from 1972 to 1982 20 2 THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC COSTS OF HURRICANES 31 Loss of Life and Injury 31 Impact of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes upon Agriculture 37 Hurricanes and the Copra Industry 40 Hurricanes and the Sugar Industry 45 Impact of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes upon Industry and Commerce 48 The Destruction of Buildings 50 VI 3 COPING WITH CRISIS: A REVIEW OF DISASTER RESPONSE IN FIJI 61 Traditional Disaster Preparedness 61 Reductions in Traditional Systems of Preparedness 65 Government Relief in the Nineteenth Century 67 Government Response in the First Quarter of the Twentieth Century 74 1929-1967: Committees, Funds, and Increasing Costs 77 PART 2 The Decade of the Committee 87 4 THECOSTSOF POST-HURRICANE RECOVERY 89 Costs to Government 92 The Prime Minister's Relief Fund 96 Contributions in Kind 98 Private Assistance and Self-Help 103 5 REHABILITATION: HOUSING 107 Assessing the Destruction 107 The Immediate Problem: Temporary Shelter 109 The Reconstruction Programmes 111 The Early Years: 1972-1976 112 The Second Phase: 1978-1982 119 Hurricane Relief Homes 125 6 REHABILITATION: SCHOOL RECONSTRUCTION AND SPECIAL PROJECTS 129 School Reconstruction 129 Special Projects 133 Shipping 134 Labour 136 7 FOOD RELIEF 139 Assessing Food Needs 139 Food Relief 142 The Ration Programmes 143 The Ration Programmes: An Evaluation 153 vii PART 3 Conclusions 161 8 THE VULNERABILITY OF FIJI 163 The Costs of Disasters 163 The Events of 1983 165 Is Fiji Becoming More Hazardous? 167 Reducing the Vulnerability: "The Self-Reliant Community" 172 Traditional Means of Coping in Contemporary Fiji 173 Non-traditional Coping Methods 177 Appendix 1 Membership of the Committee 183 Appendix 2 Catalogue of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes in Fiji 0 185 Bibliography 199 Index 207 tx Figures 1.1 Location map of Fiji 4 1.2 Summary of tropical cyclones in Fiji, 1880-1982 15 1.3 Incidence of hurricanes by month, 1880/81 to 1979/80 16 1.4 Number of hurricanes in a season, 1880/81 to 1979/80 17 1.5 Number of divisions affected per hurricane, 1880/81 to 1979/80 20 1.6 Number of times divisions and selected areas affected by hurricanes, 1880/81 to 1979/80 21 1.7 Paths of tropical cyclones, 1972-1978 26 1.8 Paths of tropical cyclones, 1978-1982 27 1.9 Areas affected by hurricane-force winds, 1972-1982 29 2.1 Damage-causing factors of hurricanes in Fiji 32 2.2 Copra production in Fiji, 1922-1982 41 2.3 Copra production: Regional variations, 1969-1981 42 2.4 Wind-induced pressure differentials in relation to houses during hurricanes 51 4.1 A simplified view of the post-disaster funding process 91 4.2 Non-life insurance claims paid, 1970-1981 106 7.1 Persons rationed after Cyclone Bebe 147 7.2 Persons rationed after Cyclone Meli 154 XI Tables 1.1 Average frequency of extreme gusts at Suva andNadi 10 1.2 Storm magnitude, 1939/40 to 1979/80 19 1.3 Summary of tropical cyclones, 1972-1982 22 1.4 High rainfalls recorded during Cyclone Bebe 28 1.5 High rainfalls recorded during Cyclone Wally 28 2.1 Hurricane fatalities in Fiji, 1886- 1982 33 2.2 Causes of hurricane-related fatalities 34 2.3 Causes of fatalities, 1972 -1982 35 2.4 Casualties of Cyclone Bebe (as of 10 November 1972) 36 2.5 Percentage crop losses in Lau Group due to Cyclone Meli 39 2.6 Copra production in the Lau Group, by island 43 2.7 Estimates of production losses due to hurricane damage in the copra producing areas, 1972-1982 46 2.8 Housing losses in Yasawa, 1912 52 2.9 Some characteristics of houses that influence their vulnerability to damage from high winds 53 2.10 Vulnerable characteristics of common house types in Fiji 54 2.11 Damage and destruction of homes in Yasawa and Mamanuca, caused by Cyclone Arthur 56 2.12 Destruction of churches and water supply systems by Cyclone Meli 57 2.13 Destruction of homes and school buildings, 1972-1982 58 2.14 Destruction of homes and school buildings by Cyclone Bebe 59 3.1 Ration programme, 1886 69 3.2 Ration programme, 1895 72 3.3 Distribution of relief expenditure, 1929-1930 78 3.4 ReliefsuppliestoLau, 1948-1949 82 Xll 3.5 Rations provided to Yasawa during the first month of relief operations, 1952 83 3.6 Expenditure of the flood relief fund, 1964 84 3.7 Proposed relief measures, 1965 85 4.1 Consumer prices indices, 1968 -1982 90 4.2 Building materials price index, 1970-1982 90 4.3 Direct government expenditure due to disasters, 1972-1978 92 4.4 Public works expenditure due to hurricanes, 1972-1981 93 4.5 Summary of EEC Exceptional Aid grants 94 4.6 Direct government expenditure due to disasters, 1979-1982 95 4.7 Contributions to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund, 1972-1982 99 4.8 Expenditure of the Prime Minister's Relief Fund, 1972-1982 100 4.9 Relief and rehabilitation funding, 1972-1982 100 4.10 Value of non-cash contributions by overseas governments and organizations, Cyclone Bebe 101 4.11 Non-cash contributions, following Cyclones Meli, Tia, and Wally 102 4.12 Funds and resources made available for relief and rehabilitation after Cyclone Bebe 104 5.1 Allocation of remaining houses to be rebuilt as of June 1975 116 5.2 Houses destroyed, 1977-1978 120 5.3 Housing rehabilitation, Cyclone Meli 122 5.4 Housing rehabilitation, Cyclones Tia and Wally 124 6.1 School reconstruction programmes, 1972-1975 130 6.2 School reconstruction programme, Cyclone Meli 131 6.3 School reconstruction programmes, Cyclones Tia and Wally 132 7.1 Maximum numbers of persons receiving rations, 1972-1982 143 7.2 Calculated average daily per capita rations 144 7.3 Ration programme, Cyclone Val 148 7.4 Ration programme, 1977 drought and Cyclones Anne and Bob 150 Xlll 7.5 Ration programme, Cyclone Meli 152 7.6 Ration programme, Cyclone Arthur 156 7.7 Estimated total daily per capita rations issued and total value of food relief, 1972-1982 158 7.8 Areas in which post-disaster rations distributed 159 XV Foreword Every citizen of Fiji is aware, from personal experience, of the devastation of hurricanes. Shortly after independence Fiji was struck by Hurricane Bebe. It was clear that, to respond effectively to the relief and rehabilitation needs created by Bebe, a new or• ganizational structure was needed. Such a structure had to be able to efficiently guide and monitor the relief and rehabilitation programmes necessitated by Hurricane Bebe. On 31 October 1972 I convened the First meeting of the Prime Minister's Hurricane Relief Committee. It was my belief that this committee could bring together individuals from the public and private sectors to think through and plan Fiji's rehabilitation effort. The committee, which was renamed the Prime Minister's Re• lief and Rehabilitation Committee, worked tirelessly for a decade to assist the nation in dealing with disasters. Many lessons were learned by the committee, the government, and our own citizens, and it is my hope that this book will bring those lessons to both the peoples of Fij i and of other countries and territories of the Paci fic. It is also my hope that this book, as a case study of Fiji's response to hurricanes, will contribute to the endeavours of the Pacific Is• lands Development Program in its efforts to provide policy assist• ance and training for the region. I am pleased to be able to record here the gratitude of the peo• ple and Government of Fiji for the assistance we have received from individuals and governments overseas towards our relief and rehabilitation programme during the last decade or so. K..K.T. MARA Prime Minister XVII PREFACE When Cyclone Bebe struck Fiji in October 1972 the devastation it wrought was on such a large scale and spread across such a wide area of Fiji that it was soon clear that the restoration of normalcy from the chaotic conditions would be a lengthy process. Within only six days of the storm's occurrence, Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese K. T. Mara assembled a group of people from both the private and government sectors, each of whom had a relevant field of expertise to offer, for the purpose of coordinating the relief and rehabilitation programmes that were to follow. (A list of Committee members may be found in Appendix 1.) At its first meeting, the group, which was to become known as the Prime Minister's Hurricane Relief Committee, was charged with the re• sponsibility of receiving all contributions of monetary and mate• rial assistance and with the determination of policies upon which the allocation of these resources would be based.