From: FIJI – ISLAND
Subject: Re: Storms
Dear Prabhu;AGTSPrabhupada! PAMHO…
We have had no internet since the storm Feb 20, and I am finally connecting after 10-12 days.
All the devotees, cows, buildings are unharmed. The vegetation, crops, fruit trees, orchards, bananas, gardens were not so fortunate however.
It is a total mess with chain saws going every day, cleaning up branches, trees, etc.
The worst of it was that the exotic fruit trees and orchards were badly damaged, some ripped right out of the ground or snapped off at ground level.
We are salvaging what we can, pulling some trees back up with stakes and ropes, heavily pruning. We have access to town, but have no internet as the two cellphone towers that supplied us internet were toppled. We were out of water for a few days, but simply went to the little river we have for everything.
We had 10 hours notice of the storm’s peak impact. Actually it passed right out in front of us, about 20 miles out at sea. It was ferocious. But it was Lord Nityananda’s Appearance Day, so we had a long program of kirtan, drama, reading, feasting. We watched the trees fly by outside while we honored Krishna prasadam. We were a little on edge but did not realize that power of the storm until the next morning when we ventured outside again.
The hills must have blunted the full impact of the storm, as it should have been worse. Krishna’s mercy…
In Savusavu town nearby, 22 yachts and boats were washed up onto shore, smashed, grounded, and 5 sunk. One barge was blown across the bay and it grounded on the shore. The entire country is seriously damaged.
But things are returning to normal, we are replanting, cleaning up, and chanting Hare Krishna.
The Vedic Village project goes on…. Cyclones like this are rare here, thankfully.
Could you please send this to Pratyatosa and Prabhupadanugas.eu for posting? It will be awhile before internet will be available at the farm, maybe a year. Meanwhile we will have to do what we can on our weekly shopping trips to town.
Thanks, Hare Krishna. Thank you for all the letters of concern and prayers from the prabhus.
Your servant,
Nityananda das
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