Saturday 9 April 2016

Meghans Personal Website and Natural Disaster Research Report

Hey everyone, Meghan here!  I realized that I hadn’t talked about school in a while so I thought I’d share a couple of recent assignments with you all. 

In language arts, I had to create a personal website so I found an online template and made a photo blog of our adventures in South America.  The website is: http://meghanonamelie.wix.com/mysite

In social studies, we are studying Japans history and we were learning about natural disasters since they occur very often there.  My assignment was to research a natural disaster that has recently occurred near me.  I chose to research Cyclone Winston which hit Fiji just over a month ago.  I thought I’d share it with you because we are soon going to Fiji to bring supplies from New Zealand and help them out so I have really taken a great interest in this cyclone.  Also, I’m not sure if it really made international news so I wanted to let you all know about it.

Cyclone Winston: How it Affected Fiji
Research Report by: Meghan Oliver

Cyclone Winston was the second largest cyclone to hit the South Pacific in the recent past (in terms of the cost it took to repair) and it was the largest cyclone on record to make landfall on Fiji!  On the 20th of February 2016, a category 5* cyclone named Winston struck the Fijian islands (*category 5 being the highest a cyclone can be).  In my report, I will talk about: the general characteristics of a cyclone, how Winston became a cyclone, the immediate and lasting impact of this natural disaster on the Fijians, and how this natural disaster has changed the worldview of the people of Fiji. 

A cyclone, sometimes called a typhoon, is a big storm (very similar to a hurricane) with high winds that spiral inwards.  Tropical cyclones form due to a combination of all these conditions: warm water in the area, unstable air in the upper atmosphere (which allows thunderstorms to form), and a low pressure system.  This is why people can predict when a cyclone is coming: they see the pressure in an area drop significantly.  Cyclones are usually characterized by the winds in the Northern Hemisphere swirling clockwise while the winds in the Southern Hemisphere are swirling counter-clockwise which ends up looking a bit like a tornado when seen from space.

Photo taken from: Wikipedia
Now that I have explained what a cyclone itself is, I will talk more specifically about Cyclone Winston.  The system was first noted as a tropical disturbance on February 7 when it was located to the northwest of a port in Vanuatu.  Over the next few days, it gradually intensified as it moved southeast and then headed northeast towards Tonga.  However, Winston stalled to the north of Tonga on the 17th and then was swept west again towards Fiji, strengthening rapidly in the process!  When the storm passed over the Fijian island of Vanua Balavu, it reached a national record wind gust of 306 km/h!  Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji, called the storm “an ordeal of the most grievous kind”.


Photo taken from: Daily Mail UK newspaper

Island of Makogai before Cyclone Winston hit (left) and after (right)
Photo taken from: Sea Mercy FaceBook Page
I have explained how and why Cyclone Winston occurred and now, I will explain more about how it affected the people who were caught in the midst of this vicious storm.  I will explain the immediate as well as the lasting impacts the disaster brought upon the Fijians.  The cyclone struck the nation around midday on the 20th.  Public transportation was suspended across the island of Viti Levu and a nationwide curfew was put in act starting at 6 o’clock p.m.  During the cyclone, approximately 80% of the population lost power and some towns didn’t get it back until weeks later.    Communication with some of the more remote islands like Vanua Balavu, Taveuni, Qamea, Cicia, Nayau, and Lakeba were lost.  Many homes lost their roofs or were completely destroyed so many people had to move in with family members or into one of the evacuation centres.   A local from the town of Savu Savu (on the island of Vanua Levu) describes that she has never experienced weather so ferocious.  “We could do nothing but wait and just hope that the damage is minimal.”  In total, around 44 people were killed, an additional 126 were injured, and tens of thousands were left homeless!  Around 62 thousand people were housed in evacuation shelters and approximately 40 thousand people required immediate assistance after the cyclone.  About 497 primary and secondary schools were either damaged or destroyed.  However, the Governments of Australia, France, New Zealand, and several other nations quickly responded to the disaster and, within days, had large-scale relief effort works in action.


Photo taken from: UNICEF Pacific FaceBook page

Photo taken from: UNICEF Pacific FaceBook page
Finally, in the end, I truly believe that the worldview of the ones who survived Cyclone Winston will have only changed for the better.  For example, I think they have all become stronger and more stoic because, despite the catastrophic scenes and chaos all around them, they were able to pull themselves together and try to repair what they could.  Also, I think that this brought the nation closer together and more as one because everyone would seek help and comfort from each other after the disaster which would make them feel closer as a nation.


These children put two sofas together and huddled in it during the night of the storm
Photo taken from: UNICEF Pacifc FaceBook page

Men clearing the road
Photo taken from: Daily Mail UK newspaper

Women and children with supplies donated by UNICEF
Photo taken from: UNICEF Pacific FaceBook page 


1 comment:

  1. Great perspective Meg. We will follow your efforts to help where you can.

    ReplyDelete