HE Nadi business community has recorded a staggering loss in the wake of the floods that wreaked havoc on the Western Division recently. Special administrator Aisea Tuidraki placed a figure of more than $200million in losses recorded by businesses in the town.
He said the business community desperately needed assistance to recover from the impact of the natural disaster.
On a positive note, he said the council and stakeholders including the State were now looking at ways of controlling flood damage.
"During the 2009 flood, we recorded a loss of $140million but this one is much bigger in terms of damage and losses," Mr Tuidraki said.
"All the shops along the main street of Nadi were damaged, including some landmark shops like Tappoo, Jack's Handicraft, Courts, MH and supermarkets," he said.
"This is the biggest loss in the history of Nadi Town and it will take some time for these businesses to fully recover."
Mr Tuidraki said some businesses did not have insurance cover and desperately needed assistance from financial institutions to get them rolling.
"I think it is important for all stakeholders to work together and help these people rebuild the image of Nadi Town because of the market potential it has," he said.
"Once they start operating they will recover fast."
He said there were multiple issues that needed to be looked at to reduce the damage caused by floods.
"First there is a need to look at the developments made in town and the land use type," Mr Tuidraki said.
"Most of the businesses didn't have proper planning on what needs to be done and precautionary measures to take when a disaster hits," he said.
"We also need to look at integrated water resource management which I think will involve key players such as government departments and other stakeholders.
"We need to involve the Forestry Department on the replanting of trees on grass land to prevent soil erosion," he added.