A Tauranga family have been airlifted from their resort after becoming trapped by swollen rivers and flooded roads in Fiji.
Brookfield couple Gavin and Kerrin Andrews yesterday cut short their first family holiday in Fiji with their young sons, Liam, 10 and Ethan, 7, after being caught by the same torrential rains that have caused flooding in some centres to reach up to 6m.
The Andrews escaped the worst of the flooding, which occurred in Nadi and Ba, in the central and northern areas of Viti Levu's west coast, but were forced to cancel the last days of their trip as incessant flooding causes transport havoc.
The Brookfield family were hoping to be back in New Zealand today and joined other New Zealand families escaping the dangerous floodwaters which have already claimed at least two lives.
"We have to be airlifted out of the resort. We were scheduled to go out tomorrow morning but all the main roads are under water," Mr Andrews told the Bay of Plenty Times yesterday afternoon, before the helicopter arrived to pick the family up from the Shangri-la Fijian Resort in the south-west of Viti Levu.
"I think it's a disaster ... they're expecting it to pack in further," he said.
Amid calls from Fijian officials to declare a state of emergency, yesterday saw a brief respite in the downpours, The Fiji Times reported.
There was a pause in the rainfall after three days' torrential rain but the Nadi weather office said there would only be a 24-hour lull before the same band of rain that lashed the Western Division turned on itself and followed the same route back.
Mr Andrews said the family were foregoing the last day of their holiday and would spend the final night in the airport before they could get an early flight back to New Zealand.
While the worst of the flooding hadn't reached them in the south of the island, they said the situation was beginning to get desperate as flooded roads from the city centres meant food was in short supply.
"At night it's been really pouring down. I think it's more over Nadi where the real rough weather is. Apparently there's about 500 houses underwater.
"Because we are isolated from the main cities [at the Resort], they're starting to run out of food and water. That's why we decided we might have to shoot out earlier," he said.
Mrs Andrews said it was an unfortunate end to their first family holiday.
"It's a bit of a bummer but we are just trying to stay in good spirits," she said.
The Fijian Metservice yesterday announced that severe flood warnings remained in force low lying areas of western Viti Levu, with occasional rain and thunderstorms continuing.