• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
  FEATURED
BREAKING: Federal Budget Pours Tens of Billions Into Clean Economy March 28, 2023
Somali Canadians Aid Drought-Stricken Homeland as 43,000 Reported Dead March 26, 2023
B.C.’s New Energy Framework a ‘Smokescreen,’ Critic Warns March 26, 2023
SPECIAL REPORT: ‘Defuse the Climate Time Bomb’ with Net-Zero by 2040, Guterres Urges G20 March 20, 2023
Devastating Impacts, Affordable Climate Solutions Drive IPCC’s Urgent Call for Action March 20, 2023
Next
Prev

850,000 Trapped in Darkness as Cyclone Yasa Hits Fiji at 250 Kilometres Per Hour

December 18, 2020
Reading time: 2 minutes

Wikimedia Commons/Humans of Vanuatu

Wikimedia Commons/Humans of Vanuatu

28
SHARES
 

More than 850,000 Fijians were trapped in inky darkness on Thursday, hunkered down against the ravages of Tropical Cyclone Yasa, which slammed ashore around 8 PM local time bearing average windspeeds of 250 kilometres per hour, towering storm surges, and the siren call of a climate emergency.

Reaching out to his people via Twitter, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama wrote that over 95% of Fiji’s people would be affected by the storm. “Prepare, take cover, take care, and #PrayforFiji,” he tweeted. Responding to this prayer, meteorologist and climate activist Eric Holthaus tweeted that Fiji will need the world’s help to recover from Cyclone Yasa. 

  • Be among the first to read The Energy Mix Weekender
  • A brand new weekly digest containing exclusive and essential climate stories from around the world.
  • The Weekender:The climate news you need.
Subscribe

“We are in a climate emergency,” he wrote. “In the past four years, Fiji has dealt with Cyclone Winston, Cyclone Harold, and now Cyclone Yasa. All Category 4-plus. The people who have done the least to cause climate change are bearing the worst of the burdens.” 

In preparation for the coming burdens of this storm, Fiji declared a 30-day “state of natural disaster,” granting both police and the military special powers to aid in the protection of people and property. The country’s National Disaster Management Office explained that the declaration would also empower the distribution of relief supplies and shelter, and help prevent any efforts to profit from the crisis. Fines or imprisonment could be levied against offenders, the office added.

Reporting on Yasa 90 minutes before the cyclone was due to make landfall, the New Zealand Herald wrote that the Category 5 storm, “currently the strongest on the planet,” was already gusting as high as 350 kilometres per hour near its centre. 

On Thursday, local media outlet FijiVillage reported expectations that Yasa would remain over Fiji’s major northern island of Vanua Levu for three to six hours, and that the area could “expect very destructive hurricane force winds up to 240 kilometres per hour, with momentary gusts of up to 345 kilometres per hour, periods of heavy rain, and squally thunderstorms.” It also warned of flash flooding in low-lying areas, storm surges, pounding rain, landslides, “phenomenal seas,” and damaging waves.

Reporting on the cyclone’s evolution earlier in the week, The Guardian wrote that Yasa, together with its less intense twin, Zazu, are the first storms to emerge in this year’s South Pacific cyclone season, which is expected to run until May.

Noting that Yasa will make landfall less than nine months after Cyclone Harold ravaged Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu in April, the UK news outlet added that “such strong cyclones were once rare but have become increasingly common in recent years.” 



in Climate & Society, Climate Impacts & Adaptation, COP Conferences, Health & Safety, Jurisdictions, Severe Storms & Flooding, Small Island States

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

kelly8843496 / Pixabay
Finance & Investment

BREAKING: Federal Budget Pours Tens of Billions Into Clean Economy

March 29, 2023
682
TruckPR/flickr
Hydrogen

Opinion: Hydrogen Hype Sabotages Potential to Decarbonize

March 28, 2023
385
icondigital/pixabay
Supply Chains & Consumption

New Federal Procurement Rule Requires Biggest Bidders to Report Net-Zero Plans

March 28, 2023
188

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

kelly8843496 / Pixabay

BREAKING: Federal Budget Pours Tens of Billions Into Clean Economy

March 29, 2023
682
Faye Cornish/Unsplash

Abundance, Not Austerity: Reframe the Climate Narrative, Solnit Urges

March 26, 2023
166
TruckPR/flickr

Opinion: Hydrogen Hype Sabotages Potential to Decarbonize

March 28, 2023
385
U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement/flickr

Willow Oil Project in Alaska Faces Legal Challenges, Economic Doubts

March 19, 2023
769
moerschy / Pixabay

Fringe Conspiracy Theories Target 15-Minute City Push in Edmonton, Toronto

February 22, 2023
1.8k
Bruce Reeve/Flickr

Ontario Faces Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuits Over Cancelled Carbon Pricing Program

May 14, 2022
205

Recent Posts

icondigital/pixabay

New Federal Procurement Rule Requires Biggest Bidders to Report Net-Zero Plans

March 28, 2023
188
UNICEF Ethiopia/flickr

Somali Canadians Aid Drought-Stricken Homeland as 43,000 Reported Dead

March 29, 2023
41
Σ64/Wikimedia Commons

B.C.’s New Energy Framework a ‘Smokescreen,’ Critic Warns

March 28, 2023
64
Prime Minister's Office/flickr

Biden’s Ottawa Visit Highlights EVs, Clean Grid, Critical Minerals

March 28, 2023
89
EUMETSAT/wikimedia commons

Cyclone Freddy Leaves Over 500 Dead on Africa’s Southeast Coast

March 23, 2023
63
Kern River Valley Fire Info/Facebook

SPECIAL REPORT: ‘Defuse the Climate Time Bomb’ with Net-Zero by 2040, Guterres Urges G20

March 20, 2023
342
Next Post

Nature, not humans, may cause mass extinctions

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}