Highlights
Humanity Road activated its response for Cyclone Winston on Friday, February 19, 2016, in advance of landfall. Below is our 3rd situation report with local social media account information. As of 22 Feb, UNOCHA reports 21 deaths, 12 injured, 2,300 people in evacuation centers and 150 homes destroyed (source).
On 22 Feb, the Fijian Government requested international assistance. UNOCHA, is liaising with the Government to coordinate personnel, supplies and equipment. Partners are working with the Government to dispatch urgent supplies and assessment teams to Koro Island, which suffered catastrophic damage. The Government has officially requested a UNDAC deployment. Team composition will likely include reception centre capacity, assessment capacity, report writing and civil military coordination (source).
The two main airports are now open (Nadi and Nausori), and a New Zealand Air Force C-130 is bringing 12 tonnes of aid and an interagency damage assessment team (source).
The National and Divisional Emergency Operations Centers in Fiji are all operational, and all response agencies, including the Military, are on standby. The Fiji Volunteer First Responders are on call for medical emergencies and rescues. The Fiji Procurement Office has been assigned to oversee logistics (source). Medical teams have also been mobilized to evacuation centers to provide health services for areas where medical services are inaccessible. The Ministry for Health is also working with humanitarian organizations to deliver medical equipment and services (source).
Communications with outer islands including the Lau Group are still down. Telecom Fiji workers are enroute to Koro Island to restore VTSAT Satellite System for communications (source).