4 Nov 2010

Rain breaks prolonged dry spell in Fiji

7:39 pm on 4 November 2010

The director of Fiji's national disaster management office says continual rain over the past few days has broken a prolonged dry spell affecting some parts of the country.

This year's severe dry season, which the Met Service says has been compounded by a drier-than-usual preceding wet season, stunted crops and resulted in water having to be shipped to some of the outer islands.

Rain was not predicted to arrive until the beginning of the wet season in December and the office's director, Pajiliai Dobui, says it's a relief that it's come before then as it's replenished hydro storage lakes.

"We are quite relieved now because our electricity was chewing up a lot of diesel because our Monasavu Dam was running low and the supplement is coming from the diesel generators, was chewing up a bit of fund from the Fiji Electricity Authority."

Pajiliai Dobui says he stands by the decision not to have declared a drought, as only those communities in Fiji without piped water were affected.