The Pacific islands of Fiji has been taking an unfortunate battering from the weather recently. Last week they were hit by a severe storm that caused millions of pounds of damage to crops and infrastructure. The worst affected area was towards the north of the Viti Levu Island. Here, 9 people were killed and 11 are still missing.

Even before the islanders have had time to draw breath after that storm, Fiji has been battered yet again by some very stormy conditions. This time it has been the southeast of Viti Levu that has taken the biggest beating. Torrential rain has not only caused further flooding, but the coastal city of Suva has been totally cut off. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes, and there are fears that the city's airport will be flooded by rising river waters.

Further northeast, around the coast from Suva, is the town of Nausori. In a little over 60 hours, 284 mm (over 11 inches) of rain fell. This is around two thirds of their usual monthly rainfall total of 401 mm (15.8 inches).

Storms aren't actually that unusual in Fiji at this time of year. Lying in the Pacific, between New Zealand and Hawaii, the islands actually fall within a tropical cyclone belt. Storms can occur anytime between October and April, but as the past couple of storms have been of rain rather than strong winds they haven't been classed as cyclones.

Also in the Pacific, but further north, Tropical Cyclone Sudal has been meandering around over the past week. It's currently tracking northeast, thankfully avoiding most populated islands. Yesterday though, it tracked across the volcanic island of Iwojima. Within a matter of hours the air pressure plummeted 30 mb before rising again, and as the wind whipped round from south east to a north westerly direction, the mean speed exceeded 60 mph with gusts far higher.

However, these wind speeds pale into insignificance when compared to the storms that hit Bangladesh on Wednesday night. A suspected tornado in the districts of Mymensingh and Netrokona resulted in the destruction normally seen by wind speeds of around 150 mph.

It appears that tens of thousands of people have been made homeless, thousands injured, and at least 50 killed as the storms ripped through numerous towns and villages.

Weather News from the last five days:
15/04/2004
14/04/2004
13/04/2004
12/04/2004
11/04/2004

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