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Disaster Management

Sunday, 27 June 2010 16:24 administrator
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SOPAC continues to strengthen the current levels of national disaster management capabilities of Pacific Island countries to become more resilient and better able to prepare for, respond to and manage the sudden onset of disasters.

Strengthening disaster management governance will include institutional, policy and decision-making processes such as disaster management legislative and planning frameworks and national focal points (NDMOs) and guidelines or models of good practice for national application.

The emergency management preparedness, response and coordination capabilities within countries will also be critically assessed to determine the level of resources and capacity that is available to protect vulnerable communities. A priority will be to ensure that effective emergency response, communication and coordination processes are established and that existing resources are utilised in the most effective way.

In terms of improved disaster response capacity the efforts of our international partners like UNOCHA, the IFRC and national Red Cross societies and The Asia Foundation working with DRP and others to support governments to develop or strengthen national arrangements, laws and policies for enhanced preparedness for national and international disaster response will continue.

The DRP Disaster Management Team provides the following services to PICTs:

  • Technical advice and support to review and update national DRM governance arrangements and legislation, operational plans and procedures
  • Support for the design and conduct of operational and table-top exercises to test emergency response plans and procedures
  • Support for the conduct of disaster risk management training in collaboration with the Pacific DRM Program of The Asia Foundation/Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance
  • Design and development of professional training courses in collaboration with TAF/OFDA and the Fiji National University

For more information, contact:

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Disaster Management Adviser – NDF Project

Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 February 2011 08:11  


Newsflash

Nukualofa, Friday 16 March 2012: How exactly will climate change impact the lives of people living on small islands and what can be done to adapt to those impacts? On Lifuka Island in Tonga’s Ha’apai group, a project to find answers to this question is underway. The answer could help people around the Pacific and the world prepare  for, and adapt to, climate change.

The project is part of the Pacific Adaptation Strategy Assistance Program (PASAP) and aims to assess the vulnerability and adaptation to sea level rise in Lifuka. It is being run by the Government of Tonga with the assistance of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Tonga Community Development Trust (TCDT).

Fuka Kitekei’aho, National Coordinator for PASAP, said that Lifuka was chosen because it had already experienced sea level rise as a result of an earthquake in May 2006.

“The earthquake measured approximately 7.9 on the Richter scale and resulted in subsidence of 23 cm of the western side of Lifuka Island,” Mr Kitekei’aho said. “In the past four years, the island has experienced significant coastal erosion over a three kilometre section of the coastline, including where the harbour, homes, and hospital are located.”