Tropical Cyclone Winston

100 Days On

On 20 February, 2016, Fiji was devastated by the strongest cyclone ever to hit the island nation. Tropical Cyclone Winston, a category 5 storm, killed 44 people and destroyed or damaged 32,000 houses. 100 days on, thousands of people are still living in tents and temporary shelters.

One of them is grandmother Kelera Leba Nakena, who is living with relatives and has received emergency aid from Fiji Red Cross. She and her grandson were carried 12 metres through the air, landing upside down in their house.

"We crawled under the bed and hugged each other. All of a sudden, a strong wind lifted the house up and there was a loud bang. I shouted 'Lord Help Us', and shone my phone light, and to my surprise I was actually looking up at the floor where the roof was supposed to be." 
- Kelera Laba Nakena, Fiji
Photo Credit: Salote Maramaciriciri/Fiji Red Cross Society

Recently, Fiji Red Cross volunteers came and cleared the debris of Kelera's old house so villagers can start helping her to rebuild her home. The Red Cross will also help her to rebuild her toilet.

Fiji Red Cross director general Filipe Nainoca says the clean-up is a way of changing people's mindsets. "We are going into these communities and re-energising them in whatever way we can, whether it’s helping them with the clean-up or helping them to focus mentally."

In the last 100 days Fiji Red Cross has reached 63,000 people with emergency relief items including tarpaulins, blankets, kits with personal hygiene items, as well as psychosocial support. Volunteers have crossed rivers and trekked for miles to get tents and other supplies to remote communities. Often they were the first people in from the outside.

Fiji Red Cross volunteers erected tents and distributed emergency aid to families in remote Fijian villages.

 Photo Credit: Corinne Ambler/IFRC

82-year-old Virisila Marama of Serea Village recalls what she felt when she saw the Fiji Red Cross volunteers coming up her driveway.

"My neighbour rang and said the Red Cross is coming. I ran to the road to wait for them. When I saw the truck I was so relieved; I cried because I was so happy to see them."
- Virisila Marama, Serea Village
Photo Credit: Corinne Ambler/IFRC

Along with shelter, psychosocial support has emerged as an urgent need in the 100 days since the cyclone. Fiji Red Cross has trained 70 volunteers and given psychosocial support to more than 550 affected community members. Volunteer Asenaca Manalovo of Savusavu says it was sad work at first.

"We were trying to keep calm and not show how emotional we felt. We used our training to give them some psychosocial support and it really helped them. They were able to share the stories that they had been keeping for a very long time." - Asenaca Manalovo, Fiji Red Cross Volunteer
Photo Credit: Corinne Ambler/IFRC

Lusiana Racani and her mother Makarita saw their house washed away by the waves that swept in with the cyclone. The psychosocial support they have received has helped them move on. 

"I feel relief, because I know that I've shared everything that was in my heart from the cyclone. And also my mum, she's very happy now, and she's very thankful to these Red Cross volunteers."

Holly Griffin, a Red Cross specialist in psychosocial support, says after a disaster like Cyclone Winston it is just as important to address the emotional scars as it is to fix the physical ones. "Damaged houses are structures made of iron and wood but they're people’s homes. People have memories and emotions connected to these places, so when they’re damaged or destroyed, you need to rebuild those emotional connections and those memories, and make new positive memories."

Thousands of children were also traumatised by the cyclone, so Fiji Red Cross had to find a way to reach them and help them to smile again. They toured affected schools with puppeteer Chris Lynch, who used his puppets to entertain as well as pass on subtle health, hygiene and safety messaging.

Fijian children affected by Tropical Cyclone Winston have been treated to puppet shows by New Zealand puppeteer Chris Lynch.

 Photo Credit: Corinne Ambler/IFRC

The puppet shows reached 1,000 of the worst-affected children, including those at Vunikavikaloa Arya School. Head teacher Asishwar Prasad says the puppet shows have changed the children's mood. "A new space has been created in their minds. They’ll go home and talk to their parents about seeing a white man with a red puppet, creating a new topic of conversation in the villages as well."

He says the health and safety messaging was a bonus. "The children listened to the puppet where they may not have listened to a teacher or parent. They were concentrating. In the future they will know what to do," Mr Prasad says.



Fiji Red Cross, with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also helped reunite families separated by the cyclone. A prisoner in Suva Remand Centre used the Red Cross message service to check on family members 100km away in Tailevu. 

"We were thinking of my uncle when the cyclone hit," says the recipient. "Thank you to Red Cross for bringing this message from my uncle. I am happy to hear he is safe and well and have replied telling him we are all OK."

Over the course of a year, Fiji Red Cross is planning to reach 65,000 people affected by Cyclone Winston with advice and help on how to rebuild homes and restore sanitation facilities. It will also roll out a health and hygiene programme that includes disease prevention messaging and psychosocial support. Communities will receive support to boost livelihoods and community preparedness training and disaster risk reduction initiatives will be rolled out to reduce the impact of any future disasters.

Fiji Red Cross director general Filipe Nainoca says the international appeal is still only 55 per cent covered. "There is still so much to do. We need continued support from the international community. Don't forget us, because we in Fiji Red Cross have not forgotten. We are still here, and we will be here until the end."

For updates on Twitter follow @IFRCAsiaPacific and @FijiRedCross #TCWinston #CycloneWinston