Fiji is bracing for another day of heavy rain

Fiji is bracing for another day of heavy rain and widespread flooding as a tropical storm continues to hammer the swamped west and north coasts.

Thousands of locals and hundreds of stranded tourists are being forced to endure
torrential rain and flooding that has already claimed 10 lives.
Riverbanks have burst for a second time since the tropical storm began lashing the
coast last Friday.
Five days on, it shows no signs of abating, with houses being flooded and businesses
destroyed in the main street of the popular tourist town of Nadi, on the biggest
island of Viti Levu.
"It's a wasteland out there," said one store owner, Vijen Doundai, whose home
supplies store in downtown Nadi was flooded, wrecking everything from lounge suites
to lawn mowers.
"There are usually tourists and local people everywhere but now it's a disaster zone
and there is not one thing left we can sell."
Ten people, including at least four local children, have died in flooding and
landslides caused by the storm.
More than 9,000 are sleeping in emergency shelters set up in schools and churches.
One family spent the night huddled under a tarpaulin on the roof of their flooded
home, caring for a baby girl and a frail elderly woman.
"We were praying because the water kept coming up and it was very hard for the older
ones," local woman Sanjeshni Lata said.
Fiji's controversial self-appointed prime minister, military leader Frank
Bainimarama, toured the worst affected areas, including rural areas home to the
country's main food industries, sugar cane and dairy.
"These farms are the backbone of our country, so what is happening is very sad,"
said the head of Fiji's Disaster Management Office, who estimates the damages bill
is about $20 million so far.
Tourism is the country's other major economic support and it is also likely to take
a battering from the storm. Tourists who risked the wet season warning to holiday in
summer have been "highly inconvenienced", he said.
"We know it has been difficult for them but we ask them please, don't leave with a
bad feeling. We need them to come back and I think they will. Just maybe not in the
wet season next time."
Brisbane woman Jane Bullock is not so sure. The mother of two and her partner have
endured five days of rain on the tourist island of Denarau, and say the Australian
government, airlines and local hotels have not done enough to ease frustrations or
get them home.
"It's left a nasty taste in our mouths to be honest," she said.
"It's a shame to say but we won't be back."
Others are more resigned, saying they were making the most of the weather by
"relaxing, reading and trying not to go stir crazy".
The Meteorological Service predicts more heavy rain, gale force winds and river
flooding on Thursday.