19 Apr 2004

Fiji's disaster relief fund not enough to deal with flood devastation

5:46 am on 19 April 2004

Fiji's Cabinet will meet in emergency session this week to make funding decisions for relief and reconstruction work after last week's disastrous flooding.

The Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, says the one point six million US dollars allocated in the existing fund will not be sufficient in view of the magnitude of the damage.

He says Cabinet will consider interim reports of the extent of the devastation, but full details are not expected to be known until later.

This year's second sitting of parliament has also been postponed.

Reports are still coming in that many villagers in the interior of Viti Levu remain cut off by numerous landslides and are desperate for food.