Clearing blocked drains and restoring proper drainage is what residents of Naqaliso Settlement in Davuilevu Housing want the authorities responsible to act on immediately, after flooding damaged homes following the expansion of the Nasinu Cemetery.

7 houses remain affected after drainage was blocked during development works linked to the cemetery expansion by Fiji Corrections Services.

Residents say water rushed through low-lying homes within minutes, leaving furniture and electronic items soaked and families scrambling to safety.

One of those affected is Naqaliso resident, Akshay Atish, who says the flooding happened suddenly while he was at work.

“The flooding happened very suddenly while I was at work. My family called me and said water was rushing into the house. Within minutes, the water level rose quickly and soaked our furniture and electrical items. We were not prepared for something like this”, Atish said.

Atish says this is the first time in three years that his home has flooded and believes a blocked culvert caused the problem.

“This is the first time in the three years we’ve been living here that our house has flooded. Even during heavy rain before, we never faced this problem. I strongly believe the blocked culvert and drainage works caused the water to overflow into our home”, he added.

Settlement Committee President, Ashwini Lata says the community had warned engineers not to block their drainage but claims no proper action was taken.

“We had warned the engineers and contractors not to block our drainage because we knew this would happen. But no proper action was taken. Now 7 houses are affected and families are suffering. We need the drainage fully restored and a permanent solution before more homes are put at risk”, Lata said.

Naqaliso residents are now urging authorities to fully reopen the drainage system and provide support to affected families, saying a permanent solution is needed before more homes are put at risk.

BY: JOELI RAGONELIWA