Commissioner Western Mesake Ledua together with the Minister for Youth and Sports Parveen Bala visited evacuation centres in Lautoka with food rations on Wednesday.

The evacuation centres included Lautoka Primary School, Natabua High School and the Fiji National University (FNU) Lautoka campus.

According to the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts, there are a total of 37 schools in the Western Division that are being used as evacuation centres.

Mr Ledua said Lautoka Primary School accommodated evacuees from the Lovu seaside area.

He said rations included root crops, vegetables and basic groceries for families to share.

He said there were 58 families in the Lautoka district who were staying evacuation centres.

He said with over 3000 people staying in evacuation centres in the Western Division, 337 families were in Nadi and 109 families in Rakiraki.

Mr Ledua said food rations for Rakiraki, Tavua and Ba area would have been delivered on Wednesday while another team were in Nadi and Sigatoka yesterday.

Families have been urged to leave the evacuation centres after getting their medical clearance that their homes were decontaminated.

California Lovu seaside and Vunato area spokesperson Manueli Sovau said thanked Government for thinking of them.

“We are grateful that the government thought of us, gave us these rations which included groceries and vegetables like bele, tavioka which will benefit the children,” he said.

Mr Sovau said most were wary of what they would return to once they left the evacuation centre.

“Our beddings were all washed away by flood waters and our plantations destroyed, even though we are going soon we don’t know what are going to see.”

He has called on further government assistance once they return home.

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