FUNDING RECEIVED
14.7 million received (US$) through the
Flash Appeal Flash Appeal 38% Funded
Key Facts
• On 20 and 21 Feb, Cat 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston hit Fiji.
• Winston was the strongest cyclone to make landfall in the Pacific.
• Whole villages were destroyed on the hardest hit outer islands.
• 350,000 people or 40 per cent of the population are affected.
• 31,200 houses were damaged or destroyed • 250,000 affected people were left without access to safe water
Tropical Cyclone
Winston Nearly two months have passed since Category 5 Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston, the most powerful cyclone to strike the Pacific in recent times, hit Fiji with devastating impacts. A total of 44 people were killed, 40 per cent of the population was affected, more than 31,000 houses were damaged or destroyed and essential services were disrupted across the country. Whole villages on some of the country’s eastern outer islands were washed away by the combined impact of strong winds and massive storm surge. Since then, widespread flooding caused by a series of tropical depressions and a second cyclone, Cyclone Zena, have compounded the hardship faced by many affected communities, especially in the country’s agricultural areas. The flooding has exacerbated needs and eroded some of the gains made through early humanitarian action with emergency shelter items such as tents and tarpaulins damaged or destroyed and crops re-planted post-Winston now washed away.
Through the Flash Appeal, the Fiji response has received US$14.7m to date, while many millions more were received in bilateral funding. These funds have been used by the Fijian Government, UN Agencies, the Red Cross and local and international NGOs to rapidly provide humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of affected people.
Humanitarian actors working through the government led clusters warn that despite this hard work and generous funding, significant humanitarian needs remain, particularly in locations hit by both the cyclone and subsequent flooding. These needs include agriculture items, sanitation infrastructure, disease control, shelter, education supplies and psychosocial support. While the transition to the recovery phase has commenced, including a Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), humanitarian partners continue to call on the international community to support Fiji in meeting outstanding humanitarian needs.