Bilan - Oli's aftermath

The cyclone has past, and is now starting to dissipate, it is now just a severe tropical storm. Rapa was not badly effected and the red alert has been lifted. Tubuai sustained the worst damage. 150 homes were totally or partially destroyed by the cyclone, over 600 of the 2000 odd inhabitants are homeless. The electricity, fresh water and telecommunications infrastructures have been very badly damaged, the government and army are mobilizing to assist with the clean-up, and restore normality. At least 23 houses were destroyed in Raivavae as well, but there was not the same magnitude of destruction as in Tubuai, the cyclone passed about 100km from Raivavae, so they also got off lightly. In Tahiti there are collections of food and clothing to be sent to Tubuai and Raivavae by boat. Our whole island is mobilized today, busy cleaning up the debris, (Viriamu's busy in the garden hauling coconut fronds around) and getting back to life as normal. But I still have this dull feeling of dread in my stomach, I've spent the morning answering e-mails and blogging, still listening in to the radio. I just can't believe how lucky we were. I think that the fact that we have a young fringing reef, with a very shallow lagoon must have protected us from the worst of the sea. The waves broke onto the reef and were dissipated in the lagoon. The areas worst effected on our island were the areas where the reef is broken or absent, the waves break almost onto the coast. In Raivavae and Tubuai there is a well developed lagoon, sufficiently deep to carry the waves, people live on the motus, or at the waters' edge, inside the lagoon, and so would have been much more vulnerable to the sea. And what can you do with 200km/h winds........

(precariously placed homes, at the water's edge, opposite the quay in Mataura, Tubuai)

We have, as yet, no news of my brother-in-law and his family, I'm sure they are alive, but not sure how their home will have held up...........Oli is not over yet, for them.