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DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Fiji says open for tourists despite floods
by Staff Writers
Suva (AFP) April 4, 2012


Flood-ravaged Fiji insisted it was "business as usual" for the South Pacific nation's vital tourism industry Wednesday, as officials confirmed the death toll from recent downpours had risen to five.

More than 11,000 people were still sheltering in evacuation centres but the ministry of information said power was being restored to flood-hit towns and some schools on the main island had reopened.

"We've had a lot of floods but we'll get back on our own two feet," Military leader Voreqe Bainimarama told reporters as he toured the disaster zone.

"We hope that this weather will disappear and we'll get fine weather and sunshine and, of course, the tourists back on."

The military regime's permanent secretary for tourism Elizabeth Powell said resorts were ready to welcome the international travellers who are responsible for about a third of the impoverished country's gross domestic product.

"Fijis tourism has quickly returned to business as usual... as regular visitors to Fiji know, the country is extremely resilient and once storms or rains pass, Fiji is back to normal in a matter of days," she said in a statement.

However, as the country prepared for the Easter weekend, normally a peak period for tourism, Australia and New Zealand advised their citizens to be cautious about visiting flooded areas.

"Some (tourism) providers are still experiencing road access, water and power disruptions," Australia's foreign affairs department said in a travel advisory Wednesday.

The Fiji government asked international airlines to temporarily stop bringing tourists into the country earlier this week as thousands of travellers struggled to get home.

But flights were operating normally Wednesday at Nadi international airport, which was cut off at the height of the flooding.

The Disaster Management Centre (Dismac) said five people were confirmed dead and three were missing.

"The Dismac team, together with other special authorities, are trying to find the missing people," Dismac director Patiliai Dobui said.

Health ministry spokesman Peni Nomuto said the number of people in evacuation centres was expected to drop significantly in coming days as people were able to return to their homes.

"All the evacuation centres have the major problem with no drinking water and poor sanitation," he said. "Despite this, our officials are taking good care of evacuees."

The country was still recovering from severe floods in January which killed 11 people.

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Asian tourists describe Outback ordeal
Sydney (AFP) April 4, 2012 - Three Asian tourists who spent days stranded in the harsh Australian Outback said on Wednesday they had feared being attacked by dingoes and had a close encounter with a snake.

The travellers -- a man and woman from South Korea and a woman from Hong Kong -- were found Tuesday by police in the Finke Gorge National Park, near the central Australian town of Alice Springs, safe and well.

They were marooned in the area -- where temperatures reach 30 degrees Celsius (86F) -- after their car got bogged on a sandy hill Sunday. They waited two nights in the vehicle in the hope that someone would rescue them.

"We just, at first, waited for rescue and for two days no one came so we tried to walk to the main road," 27-year-old Korean Areum Yoon explained to AFP.

"We walked 15 kilometres (9.3 miles)."

The park in which they were found, about 140 kilometres west of Alice Springs and accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles, is famous for its plant life but is also home to unique native fauna.

"We saw the dingoes at night in front of our car so we made them scared and go away," said Yoon.

But with only three days of food and water, the trio decided to abandon the vehicle and attempt to walk the estimated 30 kilometres to the nearest main road.

"The day that we decided to walk we saw dingoes and kangaroos... and then we saw a snake," said Yoon, who said she had been lucky the reptile had fallen onto the path from a bush just after she passed by.

Australia is home to some of the most venomous snakes in the world, while native wild dogs, or dingoes, have been responsible for more than 200 attacks on people that caused injury over the last two decades.

"I just believe that they will not attack us in the daytime," said Yoon.

The three, who are on working holidays, had left Alice Springs on Friday morning for Uluru, or Ayers Rocks, and were due back at 7:00 pm on Monday. A friend raised the alarm when they failed to return.

Police, who had been concerned about the tourists given the soaring temperatures in the central outback, said the three had been right to let a friend know when to expect them back so they could alert authorities.

Yoon said she was due to head home in about two weeks, but the experience would not deter her from holidaying Down Under in the future.

"Yes I want to. But no more off-road," she said.



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DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Health fears as flood-ravaged Fiji begins clean-up
Suva, Fiji (AFP) April 3, 2012
Flood-ravaged Fiji began a massive clean-up Tuesday, as the South Pacific nation's stretched health services expressed fears disease could quickly spread through evacuation centres. At least three people have died in the floods, although local media reports, which police said they could not confirm, put the death toll as high as seven. As tourist flights to the island nation resumed, som ... read more


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