Cyclone YASA
- Disaster Relief
- Jan 16, 2021
- 3 min read
Tropical Cyclone YASA was a deadly storm that struck the Pacific nation of Fiji on December 17th. Towards the climax of its path, Cyclone YASA reached the low-end of a category five storm. Winds raged from 150 to 160 miles per hour, devastating an island called Vanua Levu. Almost 140 thousand people call this area home, and those people were forced to evacuate as well as scramble for shelter while the cyclone terrorized the island. Throughout the course of its flight, Cyclone YASA underwent many changes that made matters worse for the inhabitants of Vanua Levu. It steadily maintained its pressure of 914 Mb and stayed category five on Wednesday, one day before the eventual attack. It also went through a process called the eyewall replacement cycle (ERC). In this process, the eye of the cyclone shrinks and vanishes, and a new eyewall is formed on the outer edges of the cyclone. Although it may have decreased the average wind speed, it was not a good trade-off for the devastating storm surge that would accompany Cyclone YASA.
The true scale of the damage was only realized once the storm had left Fiji, and the damage was tremendous. The storm had assaulted the nation with three main assets: strong downpour, sweeping winds, and large-scale flooding. Due to this, homes, trees, and cars were all severely affected, and the agricultural industry in the nation took a major hit, as crops were flattened in the northern regions of the country. In the midst of the chaos, at least four poor souls passed away. They are still unsure about the death count, due to all of the rubble that needs to be removed.
When compared to other hurricanes that severely affected Fiji, Cyclone YASA was considerably impactful. Cyclone Harold struck Fiji on April 8th, 2020 and it was a category 4 storm. Similar to YASA, Harold brought strong winds and floods to the island and unfortunately killed dozens of people in the process. Although Cyclone YASA did not have that high of a mortality rate, it was still as devastating as Harold and it probably would have taken the lives of many more if they had not evacuated. Cyclone Winston, Gita, Bebe, Bola, and Evan have all been considerably stronger than the cyclones seen a few decades ago.
As of now, Cyclone Yasa has been the most powerful storm in the 2020 to 2021 season of late/early year cyclones. However, this cyclone was simply a heralding for an even bigger chain of catastrophic storms. It introduced a new degree of tropical storms that are very volatile and hazardous. The reason? Climate change.
According to a 2018 study conducted by James Kossin, a researcher at NOAA, a ten percent reduction in the forward speed of hurricanes has been seen since the middle of the 20th century. As a result, cyclones and tropical storms are staying over land masses for a longer period of time, therefore causing more destruction. It’s the difference between a damaged roof on your house and a completely unusable house. While climate change isn’t increasing the number of cyclones, it is still making the ones that currently exist stronger. Another aspect that has to be considered as well is the arctic melting, and how the ice in the arctic is increasing the international oceanic water level. When a powerful tropical storm comes along, this water contributes to a lethal storm surge.
However, there are things that can be done right now to halt the progress of climate change. Fiji’s prime minister, Voreqe “Frank” Bainimarama, is taking immediate action to do something about the crisis. You can also help by contributing to the charities listed down below.
Although these efforts may not remove climate change and return everything to an ideal standard, they can certainly stop it in its tracks. By donating to charities and getting involved with conservative protests, our combined efforts will save the lives of many in cyclone-prone areas around the globe.
Here are some ways to help!
Tearfund: UK Christian relief and development agency, but works in 50 countries.
Able to donate directly on their website towards the Cyclone Yasa relief.
This is the new Zealand chapter, so it will be hard to establish a close connection with this organization
Oxfam Australia
Independent not-for-profit organization with 4.6 million people working around the world for aid and development.
Detailed context and situation of Cyclone Yasa on website
Donate to help with Oxfam’s response in Fiji
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