ADB to help Fiji recover from cyclone

 THE Asian Development Bank will provide US$2 million (K6 million) to help the government and people of Fiji recover from the damage caused by Cyclone Winston.

ADB president Takehiko Nakao offered his condolence to the people of Fiji for the devastation caused by the cyclone which struck last Saturday.

“My sympathies to those who have lost their loved ones, homes, and livelihoods,” Nakao said.

He pledged the bank’s full support to Fiji, both in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and in the subsequent recovery. 

ADB vice-president Stephen Groff will be in Fiji on February 28 to sign grant agreements with the government. The emergency assistance will be mobilised from ADB’s Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund. 

ADB will work with the Government of Fiji and development partners to identify priority relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction needs. 

Cyclone Winston was the strongest tropical cyclone on record in the southern hemisphere.  It brought sustained winds of up to 230 kilometres per hour and gusts of 325 kilometres per hour. 

The cyclone made landfall on the main island of Viti Levu on Saturday evening, leaving at least 36 people dead and causing extensive damage to critical infrastructure and livelihoods.