Schools in the West­ern Divi­sion will be shut for the next few days.

Attorney-General and Minister for Education Aiyaz Sayed-Khai­yum confirmed this to the Fiji Sun yesterday.

This means all schools in Nadro­ga, Nadi, Lautoka, Ba, Tavua and Rakiraki will be closed while the situation is being assessed.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said some schools were still used as evacua­tion centres and it was important that all essential services such as water and electricity supply and accessibility to roads were restored before students return to their schools.

Torrential rains, which preceded Tropical Cyclone Josie over the weekend, left behind widespread damage due to flash flooding.

TC Josie, however, did not make landfall and has moved away from the Fiji Group.

Five people have lost their lives and more than 1873 took shelter in some 35 evacuation centres.

Twenty of these centres are schools.

Due to projections for heavy rain­fall in other regions of the country, parents in all divisions are advised to wait until floodwaters have fully receded in their areas prior to sending their children to school.

The ministry will continue to pro­vide regular updates on the status of affected schools.

Edited by George Kulamaiwasa