Island Environment and Landscape Responses to 1997 Tropical Cyclones in Fiji

Abstract

Principal responses of the physical environment of the Fiji Islands to tropical cyclones Gavin and June in 1997 were investigated. These cyclones, which entered Fiji waters in March and May 1997, respectively, were the first severe tropical depressions to traverse Fiji since 1993. Northern and western islands were the most severely affected. Hurricane-force winds, intense rainfall, and temporary storm surge caused damaging effects, including widespread flooding, landslides, and coastal degradation. Different tropical cyclones produce contrasting patterns of landscape change on Pacific islands, depending on strength and duration of the storms, proximity of the storm tracks to land, rainfall totals and maximum intensities, hydrological behavior of the vegetation and soils, and many other factors influencing the environmental susceptibility of the islands concerned. Spatial patterns in the environmental responses of Fiji to cyclones Gavin and June were assessed using satellite images of the storms' movements and data on rainfall, river rises, landslide occurrence, and coastal inundation. Field observations at some of the worst affected areas demonstrate the magnitude of these effects.