Fiji - Nadi Emergency Operation Centre boosted with training to support better disaster preparedness and response. The training, supported by the European Union (EU) funded Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific (BSRP) Project, outlines the roles and responsibilities of key people operating in the EOC and gives trainees an understanding of the national emergency management framework.
Fiji - Lessons learned from Tropical Cyclone Winston
Fiji Disaster Management Review -Fiji’s National Disaster Management Act (1998) AND National Disaster Management Plan (1995) begin on overhaul today ensuring the lessons learned from the most severe cyclone to ever hit the country are incorporated into the new legislative agreements for disaster management in the country.
PIEMA Twinning Partnership
Emergency Management Cook Islands - Building a Disability Database for targeted response during emergencies - Thanks to the Pacific Community’s Building Safety and Resilience Project, which is funded by the European Union (EU) through the ACP (Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific) Group of States. The project supported Cooks Islands’ National Disability Council and the Cook Island Girl Guides to carry out a survey of all people with disabilities in Rarotonga with the aim to have a dedicated database that would provide accurate information that would help the Department of Emergency Services carry out a targeted response in times of disasters. This is their story.
Niue National Emergency operations Centre opening highlights - Niue suffered significant damage during cyclone Heta in January 2004, sustaining winds greater than 240km/h, classifying it as a category 4-5 cyclone. The Niue Hospital and dwellings near the shore were damaged as huge waves crossed the cliff line and battered houses, roads and the fuel depot. This event prompted the relocation of critical infrastructure – first the hospital and now the NEOC. The NEOC is a great example of how development partners collaborate and work alongside the government to address local needs. In this case, the European Union (EU), under the Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific project (BSRP) implemented by SPC, invested NZD 1.1 million in the construction of the NEOC, while the New Zealand Government contributed NZD 250,000 towards the structural engineering work and fit out of the facility.
A Documentary by Au Vaine Kuki Airani and Emergency Management Cook Islands
Awak, Gabion Wall, Federated States of Micronesia - For three decades, the encroaching ocean slowly ate away at the coast on which the Awak Elementary School sat, threatening the education and safety of children there in the Federated States of Micronesia. The people mobilised, and with the help of the Pacific Community (SPC), built a gambion wall to stop the biggest threat facing the U Municipality. Today, the school is able to continue providing education for six villages, with a population of more than 1000 people, in the safe confines of its boundary – thanks to the European Union. Under the ACP-EU Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific (BSRP) project which has been implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC), the Gabion wall was built to protect the school, using wire mesh baskets filled with rocks to create a strong yet flexible barrier against the sea that could withstand highwater pressures. Combining science with adaptation and mitigation strategies gabion baskets were properly anchored and protected with geotech materials to prevent soil particles from washing away. This is their success story.
Clean Drinking Water for the RMI - The islanders of Arno in the Republic of Marshall Islandsface a constant crisis with fresh clean drinking water. With climate change causing more extreme weather events, the Marshall Islands faces rising sea water levels and declining fresh supplies. Thanks to the Pacific Community’s Building Safety and Resilience Project, which is funded by the European Union (EU) through the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) Group of States, the islanders are able to tackle the problem of water shortages in the atolls. This is their story.
Building Disaster Resilience in Niue -The Pacific Community (SPC)'s EU funded Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific project #BSRP engaged with stakeholders in Niue to initiate the construction of the island's first ever National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC)
Raging Rivers - Solomon Islands
Fiji - New Tukuraki Relocation
Decentralizing Disaster Response- Santo Provincial Emergency Operation Centre
Tonga Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in Schools - Tropical Cyclone Gita was the most intense tropical cyclone to impact Tonga. Throughout its path in the South Pacific, Cyclone Gita affected multiple island nations and territories. The BSRP project partnered with Tonga National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) and the Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communication (MEIDECC) to implement the project. Part of the agreed action included the implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) education among primary schools in Tonga with great emphasis placed on the role of schools in reducing risks and building resilience into the education system and processes. This is their story.