SPC Geoscience Division

6 August 2013 – Secretariat of the Pacific Community - A moving closing ceremony took place on 2 August in Mata ‘Utu. It celebrated achievements made possible through a two-year partnership between the European Union (EU), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the French territory of Wallis and Futuna.

The three institutions brought together their comparative assets to deliver an integrated programme to reinforce the safety of people and infrastructure against natural disasters.

Wallis and Futuna, like its Pacific neighbours, is facing costly natural disasters: it is still reeling from the devastation brought by Cyclone Evan in December 2012, and the impacts of the Tonga earthquake and tsunami in September 2009 (not to mention a previous tsunami in 1993) are still being felt.

Recognising that knowledge is key to disaster planning, the government led by the Administrateur Supérieur commissioned a study of the tsunami hazard faced by the entire territory, including the islands of Wallis, Futuna and Alofi.