Tropical Cyclone Evan

Looking at the forecast and the calendar, the end of 2012 for me should prove to be as eventful as the year that just was. A massive serious tropical cyclone is bearing down on Fiji just days before I head home for the holidays.

For my friends in the northern hemisphere: …and by “tropical cyclone” I mean hurricane.

For my friends in the southern hemisphere: …and by “home for the holidays” I mean stateside.

The storm is a monster! Tropical Cyclone Evan is brewing at the moment northeast of the Fiji group after doing some serious damage to Samoa as a category 1. Now churning its way toward us at a slow pace, Evan is expected to intensify into a category 4 – maybe even a 5 – during its passage between these island nations. The media outlets and the Fiji government, not to mention the Peace Corps, are urging us all to take this situation very seriously and prepare for the worst.

http://beforeitsnews.com/earthquakes/2012/12/tropical-cyclone-evan-leaves-samoa-heads-toward-fiji-and-vanuatu-2447268.html

But I’m gonna ratchet down the drama a bit and say, first of all, that I’m safe, well-prepared and ready come-what-may.

There’s good news in the forecast today. While earlier predictions a few days ago had the storm tracking with a direct hit to the main islands, recent forecasts have the storm staying more north of the group and then tracking down the westward outlying islands. I guess that’s not such great news for those idyllic tiny island chains that grace the postcards of many Fiji vacations. But most of the heavily populated areas of the main islands should be spared the full brunt of a landfall.

That being said, Evan’s a big dude and his winds and waters will be felt just about everywhere to some degree. Here on the western side of Viti Levu (where I am posted), we are expecting strong winds, heavy rain and some local flooding. We are hoping we do not experience a repeat of the floods that caused so much damage to this region in February and then again in late March. We’ve had our share of flooding this ol’ year.

http://crowflyzinfiji.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-recently-returned-to-fiji-aftertaking.html

The next couple days should be interesting and eventful… but hopefully not too much so. I’ll keep posting updates.... Stay tuned.

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Evan is forecast to leave Fiji behind by late Tuesday. I’m scheduled to do the same on Thursday. After 18 months away from home, I’m heading back for a couple weeks to celebrate the holidays and ring in the new year with family and friends and food!

Evan, hopefully, will not return to Fiji. I will…. Stay tuned.