Category 5 Cyclone Winston Hits Fiji & Pernix (Fiji) Limited Prevails
Pernix’s Vuda Power Station suffered damage during the storm. Shown above, a portion of the wall louvres collapsed from the heavy wind, letting rain into the building.
In the wake of the category 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston, which made landfall in Fiji on Saturday 20 February 2016, the reports of the destruction left behind are continuing to surface. While there is widespread damage throughout Fiji – there will be many people looking for roof replacement (more info here) and similar services as houses and other buildings were ravaged by the storm – and the number of people dead or missing continues to rise, the Pernix (Fiji) Limited employees and families were able to stay safe through this record breaking storm and were able to restore power quickly.
Pernix (Fiji) Limited operates and maintains two power plants on Fiji, one in Suva on the East side of the Island, Viti Levu, and the other on the West side, in Vuda. The Kinoya power station in Suva, Fiji suffered minor damage and although power was down throughout the island, was able to feed limited power to the local hospital immediately and other areas which can receive power following the storm. The Vuda power station was hit harder and suffered damages due to the wind and rain taking on water, despite that, Vuda was able to come back and generate power 4 days following the storm to limited areas in the Western Division. Pernix Fiji employees worked hard to secure the power stations and to get backup power running as soon as possible after the storm.
Pernix (Fiji) Limited General Manager, Michel El Rahi stated, “Cyclone Winston left behind a lot of damage in Fiji, and we are still recovering from this storm. The most important thing to us is that our employees and their families are safe.” He added that there are some employees who lost parts of their homes, but remained unharmed which was the greatest news!
QUICK FACTS:
- Cyclone Winston had wind speeds reaching 185 mph, making the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall over Fiji.
- A cyclone, typhoon and hurricane are all the same weather phenomenon. The different names are based on the global region in which they occur.
- Most of Fiji’s 900,000 residents live on one of two main islands: Viti Levu or Vanua Levu. But the nation is comprised of more than 100 inhabited islands.
- Pernix employs 100 people on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji.
- Pernix operates and maintains two diesel-fired power plants with a total of 108 MW of base load generation capacity.
- Pernix has operated in Fiji since 1999.
About Pernix Group, Inc.
Pernix Group, Inc. is a construction company recognized by Engineering News-Record for being one of the Top 50 American Contractors Working Abroad for the last four years in a row. Headquartered in Lombard, Illinois, Pernix has operations in the United States, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim. Pernix has full-scale construction and management capabilities, in three primary markets: Federal Government, Commercial & Industrial, and Power. Recently, Pernix Group expanded its domestic Commercial & Industrial operations by acquiring KBR Building Group, now known as BE&K Building Group. Pernix also expanded its Pacific operations last year by acquiring assets of DCK Pacific Guam, now operating as Pernix Guam LLC.
Pernix Group, Inc. common stock is traded on the over-the-counter quotation board (OTCQB) under the symbol PRXG. Additional information is available at www.www.pernixgroup.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
Certain of the statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and other factors that could cause or contribute to actual results differing materially from such forward-looking statements are discussed in greater detail in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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