In Fiji

Rain By The Foot

Ail Records Broken

Suva, May 16.

WITH more than a foot of rain in six hours, Suva on the night of May 5-6 broke the Laucala Bay record of 11.8 in., created on April 29.

In the second deluge, Suva registered 14.5 in.—most of it between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. On this occasion, Laucala Bay had only 6.16 in. in the same period, but Walu Bay, close to Suva, had 12.98 in.

On May 5 and 6 Nausori, Airport was waterlogged and unusable. Mails which are normally flown from Nausori to Nadi had to be taken by road.

Highways in southern and eastern Viti Levu suffered severely and the King’s Road has been blocked by a bad wash out, north of Nayavu.

Serious flooding occurred in the Nubu kalou Creek area of Suva on the night of May 5. Gumming Street shops (mostly Indian and Chinese) were under water to a depth of more than a foot. Stocks were damaged.

Lowlying stretches of the highway past Walu Bay were under a swirling torrent deep enough to stall the engines of cars.

The following morning saw many garages jammed with cars and trucks towed in for repairs.