Climate Change Resilience
By Repeka Nasiko of Fiji Times
15 August, 2017, Honiara, Solomon Islands, PMC-4 – Strengthen tsunami early warning trainings for national weather and climate offices is being urged at the Pacific Meteorological Council meeting in Solomon Islands yesterday.
The recommendation was raised at the 4th PMC Pacific Island Communication and Infrastructure panel discussion. It came from the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/PTWS) Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICT) working group that held its fifth meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands last week.
Working group chairman ‘Ofa Fa’anunu explained there was a need for continued support for regional meteorological service staff to be trained in seismology and tsunami early warning systems and operations.
“The IOC (International Oceanography Commission) International Tsunami Information Centre identified training needs and training institutes that will support training programs for island countries.
“We requested the PMC Pacific Island Communications and Infrastructure panel to continue to improve on the infrastructure and communication for seismic data collection and warning dissemination platforms,” he said.
“We have also requested the IOC International Tsunami Information Centre and other relevant partners to continue to support the pilot aim of the Tsunami Ready Program in PICTs.”
He said Vanuatu, Tonga, Cook Islands and Niue have all expressed interest in implementing the Tsunami Ready Program that was piloted in Samoa.
Marshall Islands National Weather Services director Reginald White said the recommendation by the ICG/PWTS PICT working group reflected the needs of regional weather services that also issued tsunami warnings.
Marshall Islands National Weather Services Director, Reginald White
“We set up these panels so that we can have experts in their fields advise us on what we need to improve on and one of that is training for our staff in the area of tsunami warning,” he said.
“We are meteorologists and we cannot understand all of the risks and technical capabilities in regards to seismology and if our panel comes back with recommendations that can help us with our work then we have to listen to those recommendations.”
The recommendation by the working group was taken into account by the PMC. – #PMC4 #PacificMet
The Fourth Pacific Meteorological Council is being held in Honiara, Solomon Islands from the 14 – 17 August co-hosted by the government of Solomon Islands, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This will followed by the Second Pacific Meteorological Ministers Meeting (PMMM) on the 18 of August.
The PMC and PMMM is supported by the Government of Solomon Islands, SPREP, WMO, Government of Australia through the Climate and Oceans Support Programme (COSPPac) and Pacific Australia Climate Change Science and Adaptation Planning Programme (PACCSAP), Government of Finland, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), United Nations Development Programme through the Resilience in the Pacific (SIDS) project.
The PMC consists of members of the Pacific National Meteorological and Hydrological Services supported by its technical partners, regional organisations, non-government organisations and private sectors.
This article was developed by a Pacific Media Team of Reporters currently providing coverage on the Fourth Pacific Meteorological Council in Solomon Islands. This activity coordinated by SPREP is supported by a partnership between the Government of Solomon Islands, SPREP, Australia funded project (Climate and Oceans Support Program (COSPPac) and UNDP Disaster for Pacific SIDS (RESPAC) project.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) or the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)both of which provided funding for generating media articles.
15 August, 2017, Honiara, Solomon Islands, PMC-4 – Strengthen tsunami early warning trainings for national weather and climate offices is being urged at the Pacific Meteorological Council meeting in Solomon Islands yesterday.
The recommendation was raised at the 4th PMC Pacific Island Communication and Infrastructure panel discussion. It came from the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/PTWS) Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICT) working group that held its fifth meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands last week.
Working group chairman ‘Ofa Fa’anunu explained there was a need for continued support for regional meteorological service staff to be trained in seismology and tsunami early warning systems and operations.
“The IOC (International Oceanography Commission) International Tsunami Information Centre identified training needs and training institutes that will support training programs for island countries.
“We requested the PMC Pacific Island Communications and Infrastructure panel to continue to improve on the infrastructure and communication for seismic data collection and warning dissemination platforms,” he said.
“We have also requested the IOC International Tsunami Information Centre and other relevant partners to continue to support the pilot aim of the Tsunami Ready Program in PICTs.”
He said Vanuatu, Tonga, Cook Islands and Niue have all expressed interest in implementing the Tsunami Ready Program that was piloted in Samoa.
Marshall Islands National Weather Services director Reginald White said the recommendation by the ICG/PWTS PICT working group reflected the needs of regional weather services that also issued tsunami warnings.
Marshall Islands National Weather Services Director, Reginald White
“We set up these panels so that we can have experts in their fields advise us on what we need to improve on and one of that is training for our staff in the area of tsunami warning,” he said.
“We are meteorologists and we cannot understand all of the risks and technical capabilities in regards to seismology and if our panel comes back with recommendations that can help us with our work then we have to listen to those recommendations.”
The recommendation by the working group was taken into account by the PMC. – #PMC4 #PacificMet
The Fourth Pacific Meteorological Council is being held in Honiara, Solomon Islands from the 14 – 17 August co-hosted by the government of Solomon Islands, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This will followed by the Second Pacific Meteorological Ministers Meeting (PMMM) on the 18 of August.
The PMC and PMMM is supported by the Government of Solomon Islands, SPREP, WMO, Government of Australia through the Climate and Oceans Support Programme (COSPPac) and Pacific Australia Climate Change Science and Adaptation Planning Programme (PACCSAP), Government of Finland, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), United Nations Development Programme through the Resilience in the Pacific (SIDS) project.
The PMC consists of members of the Pacific National Meteorological and Hydrological Services supported by its technical partners, regional organisations, non-government organisations and private sectors.
This article was developed by a Pacific Media Team of Reporters currently providing coverage on the Fourth Pacific Meteorological Council in Solomon Islands. This activity coordinated by SPREP is supported by a partnership between the Government of Solomon Islands, SPREP, Australia funded project (Climate and Oceans Support Program (COSPPac) and UNDP Disaster for Pacific SIDS (RESPAC) project.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) or the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)both of which provided funding for generating media articles.