Final Exam Part 2

Story 1

It was 1:45 AM and the night was going relatively smoothly. The meteorologists working at the Nadi Weather Centre were packing up ready to go back home and catch some sleep, until something drastic happened. At 2:00 AM the scientists detected a cyclone developing rapidly near Nauru and moving south-west across the Pacific towards the Solomon Islands. At 3:00 AM the Weather Centre contacted the Solomon Islands and warned them about the incoming cyclone they named "Victor", but there was nothing the Solomon Islands could do about it.

 At 10:00 AM the winds in Honiara(The capital of the Solomon Islands)were blowing over 140 MPH. All  shipping near the islands were shut off and by midday Cyclone Victor passed directly over Honiara destroying over 20 houses, killing 6 people and injuring 18 people. 

 "We warned all the proper authorities. It was a fast developing front that we could not have anticipated any faster" said Nadi Weather Director James Jones.

 Even though these scientists warned to islands as fast as they could, Cyclone Victor was too spontaneous and developing too quickly that the Solomon Islands couldn't take all the proper measures.

 "It was pretty chaotic for a few hours when the storm hit the community. We have heavy hearts over the six people that lost their lives today" said Police Chief Marianna Adams.

 Even though the lives of six people were lost and over 100 people became homeless there is still hope. The Honiara Local Pastor Harold Young opened up his church for people who lost their homes during the cyclone. he is also working to help these people get themselves back into a stable home.

 "The church is open to anyone who lost their home and needs a place to stay. We will hold prayer services each night at 6 p.m. until we have everyone back in a stable home". said Harold Young.

 The Solomon Islands government was able to avoid a more serious loss due to Hurricane Kilo that happened three years prior. This hurricane made the government establish emergency shelters, as well as giving emergency workers more experience with handling and dealing with tropical storms.

 " I want to commend all of our local emergency workers for their efforts." said Jones. "It could have been worse but the emergency shelters established three years ago after Hurricane Kilo gave our people a lace to hide".

 Even though the death toll was limited due to these factors people still died. Lisa Ramos was a mother of one of the men killed.

 "We are devastated that our son, Frank, was killed. He was coming home from a vacation in Australia" Said Lisa Ramos.

 Even though the Solomon Islands were able to avoid a serious loss, the increase in the amount and intensity of these storms is worrying. We have to be careful moving forward as more are bound to come.