CYCLONE WINSTON

 
 

Cyclone Winston Has Left 120,000 People In Desperate Need of Shelter. Please Help.

The ShelterBox Response Team is delivering lifesaving aid in Fiji to survivors of Cyclone Winston, the strongest storm to ever make landfall in the Southern Hemisphere. The storm brought torrential rain, wind speeds of 200 mph, and 40-ft storm surges. The sheer force of the storm has destroyed up to 90% of structures in hardest hit areas and left an estimated 120,000 people without shelter. The Fijian government has requested international humanitarian assistance, specifically emergency shelter. 
 
On the island of Makogai, the villagers put on life jackets and sheltered in their homes as the winds gathered speed. As the houses began to tear apart, schoolteacher Sakaraia Balebuca and his family decided to hide underneath their raised brick floor. More people joined the family under the brick floor until more than 40 villagers, including children and mothers with infants, were all hiding together. When a ShelterBox response team arrived, they found the whole village sheltering in the only four buildings left standing.
 
Thanks to prepositioned stock in Fiji, as well as New Zealand and Australia, the ShelterBox Response Teams have already been able to deliver tents and ShelterBoxes to families on six remote islands, including Makogai, Nairai, Batiki. Planned distributions for Koro (100% of homes destroyed), Ovalau and Taveuni in the next few days will be on a larger scale. 
 
Aid distributions to date have been alongside partner, Sea Mercy, and include food, water, building materials, tarps and tents. Access to potable is an issue for the affected population because historically the supply was captured via roofs and water collection systems which have all been destroyed. The use of the tarps and an empty ShelterBox can now serve to capture rain and provide essential water. In addition, the Sea Mercy ships are converting sea water into drinking water, which is delivered via empty ShelterBoxes. It is anticipated that this type of response will continue on the remote islands. On some islands, 100% of structures were destroyed. ShelterBox is there, providing life-saving shelter and supplies. More aid is on its way, but it's not enough.
 
WE NEED YOUR HELP
We need your support to send another 2,000 ShelterBoxes to reach these communities and give people like Sakaraia comfort and safety. Donations for the Fiji response will be designated expressly for that purpose. 
 
ShelterBoxUSA.org/beinvolved s P: 941.907.6036  |  F: 941.907.6970  |  E: info@shelterboxusa.org