The University of the South Pacific (USP) recently supported the Tuvalu Cyclone Awareness program in nine communities, thanks to funding from the European Union Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Scaling Up Pacific Adaptation (GCCA+SUPA) project.
Tuvalu is the fourth smallest nation in the world, and one of the most isolated island nations, with an average elevation of only 1.83 meters, making it one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to disasters and the impacts of climate change.
The objective of the training was to formulate the roles and responsibilities of the Funafuti Island Disaster Committee and provide training on early actions and procedures before and during natural disasters.
Tuvalu experiences various hazards that affect the country, especially during the wet season.
The most common risks include tropical cyclones, sea level rise, flooding, drought and extreme heat, and epidemic.
Cyclone Season briefings are one of the tools that the Department of Disaster Management is using in partnership with the Tuvalu Meteorological Service, Public Health Division, and Tuvalu Red Cross to brief communities, Community Disaster Committee members, and Island Disaster Committee members on the Cyclone outlook for the 2020/ 2021 cyclone season, La Nina outlook, multi-hazard Community and Island Preparedness and Response actions and Covid-19 preparedness actions for 2021.
The communities are Kavatoetoe, Teone, Lofeagai, Amatuku, Funafala, Papaelise, Funafuti and Vaiaku.
The workshop ran from April 11-21 and was held at the USP Tuvalu Campus.
The 4.5-year project (2019-2023) is funded with €15 million from the European Union (EU) and implemented by The Pacific Community (SPC) in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and USP, in collaboration with the Governments and peoples of Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Tonga and Tuvalu.
