Bad Weather Disrupts Major Services

Over the next few days, water and electricity services, along with air, sea and road travel in parts of the country are expected to be disrupted a result of the impending weather conditions.
Electricity
In terms of electricity, parts of the Western Division will be out of electricity over the next two days.
The areas include Ba, Tavua, Vatukola, Rakiraki and Nadarivatu, where the weather condition is the worst. EFL chief executive officer Hasmukh Patel said the power disruption was due to power poles being washed away by flooded waters.
“We suspect that a 33,000 volt lines from Vuda to Ba might be damaged as a result of the heavy rain,” Mr Patel said during a press conference yesterday.
He said it was difficult to fix the power lines at this stage because no helicopter was prepared to fly in these circumstances.
“A team has been sent to Ba on patrol to a look at the situation.”
Water services
The Fiji Water Authority again reiterated for its customers to expect water disruptions. Customers are advised to conserve and always store sufficient amounts of water to last for at least two to three days in their homes at all times.
Customers are also encouraged to invest in storage containers or water tanks connected to the water system for storage and backup supply during any unplanned disruption that may arise due to emergency works or natural disasters.
For further enquiries, customers can call 3346777 and 5777 (all-mobile network users), email contact@waf.com.fj or go to the WAF Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WaterAuthorityofFiji
Fiji Link flights today
A release from Fiji Airways announced that all scheduled flights to Savusavu, Taveuni and Labasa today have been cancelled.
Morning and afternoon flights between Nadi and Suva would operate as scheduled, subject to conducive weather conditions.
For tomorrow, all scheduled Fiji Link flights are also cancelled.
The following Fiji Airways flights have been impacted:
- The Sydney-Nadi repatriation flight (FJ 1910) today has been rescheduled to operate tomorrow.
- The Nadi-Tarawa charter service (FJ 2231) today has been rescheduled to operate on February 2.
Most Fiji Airways jet aircraft will operate their scheduled freighter or repatriation services out of Fiji or be ferried to Sydney and Auckland.
These aircraft will remain at those ports until weather conditions in Fiji improve.
Customers whose flights are impacted can use their flights at a later date or hold their funds for future use on any Fiji Airways or Fiji Link flight. Customers with refundable tickets can opt for refunds.
Customers can explore other options by calling the Fiji Airways Reservations Centre.
Fiji Airways Group Reservations Centre Contacts:
Calling from Fiji: +679 672 0888 or +679 330 4388
Calling from other countries? Please visit https://www.fijiairways.com/en-fj/contact-us/
For shipping services,
The Fiji Maritime Safety Authority in a release said all maritime transport service were suspended from 6pm yesterday until further notice.
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