CPL Group sends supplies to flood victims in Fiji

THE CPL Group, one of the biggest retailers in the country, has donated food and water for flood victims in Fiji.
Fiji has been experiencing floods and landslides since Jan 22 and which has resulted in the deaths of seven people and thousands homeless on Viti Levu, the country’s largest island.
The Nadi Weather Office had previously issued a cyclone warning, although the threat has been downgraded to flash flooding.
More than 3,500 people were forced to flee their homes to 74 makeshift evacuation centres established in schools, military bases and government buildings on Viti Levu.
The northern towns of Tavua and Ba were reportedly the hardest hit.
On Jan 26, the military government declared a “state of natural disaster” across Viti Levu, and this remains in place in Nadi, Lautoka, Rakiraki, Ba and Sigatoka.
There is a severe shortage of clean drinking water, particularly in Ba, where bridges connecting water pipes to half the town’s residents were swept away.
The Red Cross plans to set up a portable water treatment plant for the area.
The World Health
Organisation has predicted a rapid rise in mosquito numbers and warned of an increased threat of waterborne diseases, such as typhoid, dengue fever and leptospirosis.
Three people were admitted to Nadi Hospital last week with typhoid, commonly contracted by drinking sewage-contaminated water.
Many farmers have been left destitute due to damage to sugar cane plantations caused by landslides and debris, including tree trunks and silt, deposited in their fields.
CPL chairman Mahesh Patel called on those who interested in helping to contact Laisiasa Jioji, the director of Global Compassion, the compassion ministry of Christian Mission Fellowship International, which has been providing food rations and other assistance in the affected areas.  
They may be reached at +679 3398901, +679 3398902 or mobile +679 8362286 or email [email protected]