FIJI – The body of a man missing in Fiji’s recent flooding since last weekend has been found.

The 67-year-old farmer, Suluo Ratuba, had been missing since last Saturday and his body was found floating in the river near Tavua, one of the worst hit areas.

Ratuba was swept away by strong currents while trying to cross the Yaloku bridge in Ba. He was accompanying a group of men to secure livestock.

Eight people have been confirmed dead in the two cyclones and continuous heavy rain which has saturated Fiji over the last two weeks.

One man, aged 59, collapsed and died from the stress of trying to put concrete blocks on his roof to stop it blowing away.

Meanwhile, miraculous stories of survival have surfaced, including that of Ranjana Devi and her family who live near Ba.

She and her son survived a deluge of water into their house by floating on a bed as the swollen creek waters rose.

“We were fighting for our life, nearly died. Another two or three minutes, we could have been washed away with the water,” Devi said.

She said although they had lost everything and had no insurance, they planned to rebuild, taking into account the more frequent intense weather in Fiji.

A Lautoka family is living under a tarpualin after their home collapsed under strong winds caused by Cyclone Keni.

Dinesh Maharaj of Delaitomuka said his family had been trying to salvage what they could over the past few days.

“The roof of our house was blown away on Tuesday,” he said. “We were lucky to escape without getting hurt.

He said the family had erected tarpaulin covers as a makeshift roof.

“We have nowhere else to go. I have two children that I am worried because we are staying in a tent.”

He said the family was also faced with the task of rebuilding their home.

“We went to the Social Welfare, the NDMO and religious organisations to try and get some help.

“I don’t have a stable job and I can’t support my family while trying to build my house again.”

The president of the Rakiraki Chamber of Commerce in Fiji is hopeful river dredging will start in a matter of weeks and relieve the town which has been hard hit by floods.

George Shiu Raj said the town had lost about two million dollars with several major floods this year.

He said it was fortunate low tide coincided with this week’s event during Cyclone Keni.

He was confident once the dredging was underway the problems for residents and business would be alleviated.

“We were very fortunate that an allocation by the government has been given to us, five million dollars,” Rai said.

“The contract has been given to the China Railway for dredging the river.

“It might happen within say three or four weeks time. China Railway has been contracted. The contract has been signed,” he said.

- PNC sources