Flooding in Fiji: Findings from a 100-year historical series

Abstract

Correspondence from a long-established sugar mill provided the opportunity to construct the longest flood series for a river in Fiji - the Ba River in northwest Viti Levu - from 1892 to 2002. Flood waters reached the mill floor every four years on average. Contrary to common lore, this study could detect no increase in the frequency of major floods over the course of the 20th century, despite intensification of land use and siltation of the river channel over that time. Large, slow-moving tropical cyclones situated northwest of the valley have generated large floods, but so too have tropical rainstorms. Major floods have occurred in months when the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) was both negative and positive, suggesting that the SOI is a poor indicator of flood potential for the Ba River. Copyright © 2007 IAHS Press.