Summary
SUMMARY
The Port of Lautoka is not a tropical cyclone haven. All berths in the Port are vulnerable to wind, wave damage, and storm surge. The Port of Lautoka is especially vulnerable to the full impact of tropical cyclones since storms normally approach Fiji from the northwest. Russell Thompson wrote in an article titled Tropical Cyclones in the Fiji Islands, "The hurricane-force winds and excessive rainfall are coupled with tidal waves (loka) which can reach heights of 15 m. As reported In the List of Tropical Cyclones affecting Fiji from 1830 to 2000 Seasons, Hurricane Oscar in February 1983 was a good example of storms affecting the Port of Lautoka. "High winds, flooding due to heavy rainfall and storm surge caused widespread devastation in the west and south of Viti Levu and nearby islands."
Storms in this area have tracks that are very erratic compared to other basins and the storms do not exhibit the classical recurvature pattern. When combined with the knowledge that 21 out of 50 tropical cyclones developed within 72 hours, it becomes evident that Navy ships should sortie as soon a possible when a tropical cyclone is approaching the Port of Lautoka. The transit takes approximately two hours to reach open ocean through Navula Passage to the southwest of the Port.
Current weather conditions can be found at http://www.met.gov.fj. A secondary source is via the website http://www.weather.com.
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This hurricane haven evaluation was prepared by
R. G. Handlers of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Monterey, CA. and S. Brand of Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, CA.
Source: http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/port_studies/thh-nc/fiji/lautoka/text/summary.htm
