SUVA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Fijians were urged on Friday to be always prepared for natural disasters such as tropical cyclones.
"We must never forget what happened during tropical cyclone Winston and should always be prepared for natural disasters," Fijian Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts Rosy Akbar said during the commissioning of the Wainibuka District Primary and Wainibuka Secondary School, new school building which were destroyed by tropical cyclone Winston in 2016.
The Wainibuka District is located in Tailevu, which is one of the eight provinces based in Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island.
"We Fijians are very strong, we never give up and that is what we should teach our children," she said. "When warnings are given for natural disasters, we must take it seriously because natural disasters do a lot of damage."
Akbar thanked the community especially the teachers and the parents who struggled after the early days of tropical cyclone Winston and made sure that children continued to attend school.
In Fiji, the official cyclone season is from November to the end of April every year.
In 2016, Fiji was hit by tropical cyclone Winston, which killed 44 people and caused extensive damages to the island state.
