Second time lucky but please do not get complacent.
These are the words of DISMAC Officer Pajiliai Dobui after the tsunami warning for Fiji was cancelled in the last hour.
Dobui said they are pleased with the quick reaction from the relevant authorities and the general public but people should not get complacent as we may not be so lucky the next time.
During the rush to get to higher ground, Fijivillage News witnessed that the main streets leading out of the capital city were jammed by traffic with people stuck in their vehicles for upto half an hour.
Dobui said DISMAC is currently working on a pilot project to come up with a tsunami evacuation plan for the major centers.
He said certain areas will be identified as evacuation points.
He said they will also try and carry out a study to ascertain which areas people can evacuate on foot and not use their vehicles in attempts to move to higher ground.
Director Nadi Weather Office and Chairman for the Fiji Tsunami Warning Centre, Rajendra Prasad has confirmed that the tsunami warning is cancelled for the Fiji islands and all the Pacific island countries.
Prasad said there is a possibility that there will be rough seas and big swells and people should be prepared for that.
This is after a tsunami warning was issued for Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Island, Wallis-Futuna, Pohnpei, New Zealand, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Australia, Niue, Cook Islands following an earthquake near Vanuatu.
The Fiji Red Cross initiated its emergency procedures and set up first aid centers in 15 locations around the country moments after the tsunami warning was issued for the Fiji group this morning.
Red Cross Disaster Coordinator Vuli Gauna said this is an initiative to ensure they can react quickly and assist people in case a tsunami hits Fiji.
But the exercise proved to be useful as the Red Cross team had to attend to people who needed some medical attention after having to walk from the central business district in town down Suva to Victoria Park in Knolly street.
Earlier story...
Director Nadi Weather Office and chairman of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre Rajendra Prasad has confirmed that the tsunami warning is cancelled for the Fiji islands and all the Pacific island countries.
Prasad said there is a possibility that there will be rough seas and big swells and people should be prepared for that.
This is after a tsunami warning was issued for Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Island, Wallis-Futuna, Pohnpei, New Zealand, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Australia, Niue, Cook Islands following an earthquake near Vanuatu.
Warning center confirms earthquake
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii has now confirmed that the earthquake occurred just after 10 o'clock this morning near the Vanuatu islands at a depth of 33 kilometres.
They have also released the measurements and reports of tsunami wave activity.
In Vanuatu, waves were generated of about 0.5 metres and in Luganville, the tsunami wave activity was 0.10 metres.
Based on the magnitude of the earthquake, a large tsunami could have been generated but we are very fortunate that the threat has passed and there was no generation of a large tsunami wave.
According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre's evaluation, sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated.
It may have been destructive along the coasts near the earthquake epicenter.
For those areas, when no major waves are observed for two hours after the estimated time of arrival or damaging waves have not occurred for at least two hours, then local authorities can assume the threat has passed.
