L/C Sea Mercy (Landing Craft) Arrives in the Lau Group!

L/C SEA MERCY

"Sea Mercy" (our dedicated disaster recovery Landing Craft) arrived in the Northern Lau Group of Fiji to begin a month long Emergency Water Generation program that will provide over 100,000+ liters of clean drinking water for the number of "at risk" remote island villages following Cyclone Winston. 

Although some water catchment (roofs, guttering and water storage tanks) have been rebuilt or repaired, because Fiji is currently into it's "dry season" (until October), there has been little or no rain to help replenish their drinking water.

Captain Geoff Deutschmann

Captained by Geoff Deutschmann, L/C Sea Mercy was designed not only as a heavy aid transport, but was also specially designed to carry a 10,000 liter/day desalination unit (a Spectra LB2800) to meet the crucial water needs of the remote island villages following a natural disaster. With it's shallow draft, yet 5 ton carrying capacity, it can slip through almost any reef and anchor in a remote lagoon to deliver aid. Carrying over 400 meters of water delivery hose (and hose floats) on-board, it can deliver water to almost any village water storage tank. The water produced is temporarily stored on the Landing Craft before being pumped to the waiting village.

L/C Sea Mercy spent the months of June and July in the Lomaiviti Group generating water (50,000 liters) and transporting rebuilding materials and aid for the Makogai School project and the Naigani Village rebuilding project.

One of 8 concrete water tanks being refilled by Sea Mercy on the remote island of Batiki (Naigani Village). With the buildings damaged or destroyed (roofs and guttering), there is no was to collect drinking water for the village until they are rebuilt and the raining season returns in October.

When the water was restored to the village, the people were able to return to help rebuild their village (they had relocated 3 kilometers away to Manuku village).

Traveling almost 200 miles across open ocean to reach the Lau Group, it will refill the storage tanks there before heading to Taveuni to help offset the fresh water needs in the villages on the southern side of the island.

Water Catchment System Assessment and Repair in the Yasawa Group

Look at the size of this tree!! A true testament to the strength of the 
winds that came with Winston.

Damage in Kese and Somo

Tom and Bruce have been busy assessing and repairing the water catchment systems in the villages of Keso and Somo on Naviti Island in the Yasawa Group. The catchment systems are designed to "catch" rain water from the roofs of buildings and route it to large storage tanks for later use. Many of the roofs and tanks were destroyed or damaged by the high winds and flying debris of Winston. Without the ability to store rainwater, these villages face the crisis of having no fresh water and, to complicate things, the dry season is starting soon. This is the case throughout all the remote islands and is our highest priority need!!

As part of our emergency response efforts, Sea Mercy has installed a solar-powered desalinization unit in each village to "make" fresh water from salt water.

Gotta love the ingenuity of the Fijian people who try to let nothing go to waste:)  Bruce and Tom were recently called back to look at a desalinization unit that was not working. They investigated and found that the villagers had hooked a hose to the discharge port of the unit to use as a shower. The pump is not made to push water uphill and an air-bubble formed in the system but it was a quick fix and they were back in business.

     

Damage to water storage tanks been
 a widespread problem in the remote islands

            

New roof, new tank - just add water.