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While there has been investment in climate change-related capacity and infrastructure, critical gaps remain in weather and ocean monitoring services in the Pacific, the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) says.
This comes as a 10-year plan to strengthen the region’s ability to forecast and respond to natural disasters is expected to be formally approved by the Pacific Meteorological Council.
The council, which New Zealand belongs to, said Weather Ready Pacific was developed to ensure the region “doesn’t get left behind”.
“This includes participating in, and benefiting from, advances in forecast and warning systems for weather, hydrological and oceanic events – enabling increased accuracy, geographic specificity and lead time of forecasts.”
Weather Ready was endorsed by the Pacific Islands Forum leaders in 2021.
The programme was also shared during the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, in July last year and it’s supported by SPREP, World Meteorological Organisation and the New Zealand and Australian governments.
HB Civil Defence/Stuff
Residents and businesses in Wairoa have had a tough few months dealing with the recovery following Cyclone Gabrielle.
More than US$160 million (NZ$270m) has been provided for the Weather Ready Pacific project.
SPREP said the investment was ambitious, innovative and transformative to strengthen the technical capacity of the region.
“This will bring about accurate and timely information during extreme weather events to safeguard communities,” it said in a statement.
“Economic losses from recent cyclones and flooding in the Pacific were estimated to cost over US$1 billion. The risks posed by extreme events are increasing and will become more intense in the coming decades.”
In New Zealand, two extreme weather events this year – Auckland Anniversary flooding (January 27-February 2) and Cyclone Gabrielle (February 5-11) – left five people dead, with thousands forced to flee their homes. The repair bill from both events has been estimated at between $9 billion and $14.5b.
MetService Wellington’s rain radar is back in action after an upgrade in May, providing residents in central New Zealand with real-time rain observations.
This was welcomed by communities as “particularly important during severe weather events”, one resident said.
The $2.1m upgrade involved replacing the 30-year-old radar hardware with new technology, and strengthening the tower to meet modern seismic standards.
Red Cross Vanuatu
Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila bore the full brunt of tropical cyclone Kevin when the category 4 storm hit the country on March 1, 2023 – 48 hours after cyclone Judy wreaked havoc on the Pacific island nation.
MetService NZ’s severe weather warnings exist as a way to warn Kiwis that consequential weather is forecast by the national meteorological agency.
In the months leading up to the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, there were 77 severe weather warnings issued by MetService. In December there were eight, with 27 in January and 42 in February.
Tonga’s met service director Ofa Fa’anunu told the Pacific Meteorological Council meeting in Fiji last week that Weather Ready was critical to predictions of more intense tropical cyclones, increased heat stress, extreme rainfalls, storm surges, droughts, sea-level rise and marine heatwaves.
“Weather Ready is a game changer in the way we are dealing with events such as cyclones, extreme weather and tsunamis that will continue to affect the lives of the communities we serve.”
Fa’anunu said the programme could co-ordinate people-centred, end-to-end multi-hazard early warning systems for Pacific countries and territories.
His Fijian counterpart and council chairperson Bipen Prakash said an agreement was key to the success of Weather Ready.
“No-one needs to be convinced of this as we are facing continuous and ever-increasing threats of natural disasters from tropical cyclones, floods, droughts as well as events from geo-hazards, so early warning systems are a priority for us.
“We aim to have a governance structure agreed to which meets the need of our national meteorological and hydrological services but is also fully transparent to attract donors.”
During visits to Fiji and Vanuatu in early August, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced funding support for emergency management initiatives there.
In Fiji, he pledged $3.45m and said the funding would assist with peer-to-peer capacity building and the establishment of a disaster warehouse in the north.
“This is significant and an additional element of our assistance to Fiji. New Zealand and our Pacific whānau have a proud history of supporting each other whenever severe weather hits, and working together on recovery and resilience,” he said.
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