Tsunami Training Workshop

A tsunami training workshop was conducted in Kosrae from September 17-19 for Tsunami threat assessment and decision making.  The trainers were Dr. Laura Kong, Director of the International Tsunami Information Center in Honolulu; Mr. Charles "Chip" Guard, Warning Coordination Meteorologist from Guam, Rev. Eden Skilling from the FSM Weather Service and Mr. Nena William as the Disaster Coord ination Officer for the State of Kosrae.

 

FSM PACC personnel joined the other stakeholders to learn about the new Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) messages. These  messages contains the data from earthquakes, which can be used to determine the probability of generating tsunamis and estimated times of arrival.

The PTWC will give the information and each country should evaluate the need to evacuate. Kosrae State will be in contact with the FSM Weather Station in Pohnpei to determine the need to make tsunami warnings. Another tool we got in the training is a software that give us the location, magnitude and depth of the earthquakes, to visualize were it was and the potential to generate a tsunami. With these new products, Kosrae is better prepared to evaluate the need of evacuation  before a tsunami reach the island.

 

From left to right: Mr. Nena William, Dr. Laura Kong, Rev. Eden Skilling and Mr. Chip Guard.

El Nin~o Warning

A chart which shows the current weather conditions of El Nin~o, La Nin~a and Neutral years, has been produced by Coastal Engineer, Mr. Douglas Ramsay. He works for New Zealand's, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd. Mr. Ramsay prepares Kosrae tide tables from the data gathered by the FSM PACC meteorological instruments and also updated the Kosrae Shoreline Management plan.

The chart has an arrow showing the strenght of the current state and also the changes expected in terms of rainfall, drought, temperature, typhoon ocurrence, sea level, trade winds and coral bleaching.

This warning can be accessed in kosraecoast.com

Kosrae State Joint Action Plan in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change

A consultation meeting on Disaster Risk Management & Climate Change Adaptation, was held in Kosrae State from August 26 until September 6, 2014.  Consultants from SPC and the National Government Office of Environment & Emergency Management, OEEM; facilitated the consultation. The purpose of this consultation was the collection of inputs from Kosrae stakeholders, and prepare the  Kosrae Joint Sate Action Plan, KJSAP on DRM and CCA.

The KJSAP, will implement National Government policy goals, it is State driven, allows for multiple perspectives by consulting different sectors/stakeholders. The plan aligns with the State, National and Regional approach of integrating disaster and climate risk.

The consultation  was conducted by the Kosrae Disaster Coordinator, Mr. Nena William; SPC consultants, Mrs. Anna Gero and Noah Tokavou  and OEEM’s James Lukan and Cindy Ehmes. The stakeholders consulted included, The Governor’s Cabinet, Government agencies, NGO’s, Municipal leadership, Disable persons, Youth & Women’s Councils, Church leaders and Senior citizens.

 

The final meetings presented the findings from the different sectors consulted. The key hazard most mentioned was the high sea/swells with 17 inputs from a total of 35. Other findings were the gaps in financial & physical capacity, which need to be improved. The island’s capacity on human, social & environment issues fared better.

Kosrae State Governor, Hon. Lyndon Jackson, merged the Kosrae Disaster Coordination Office and the FSM PACC as one office to be consistent to the local CC legislation on December 2013.  The FSM National Climate Change Policy & Disaster Risk reduction was passed by the FSM Congress in September 2013. Kosrae was the first State to held this consultation, the other three states will be next.