Land availability remains challenge to humanitarian efforts
LAND availability remains a critical challenge to the Pacific’s humanitarian disaster response
Disaster
Fiji hands over leadership at Pacific disaster risk management talks
FIJI’S pivotal role in Pacific disaster risk management was emphasised as the chairmanship for the 2nd Pacific Disaster Risk Management Ministers Meeting was handed over during the meeting in Koror,
Pacific Response Group strengthens regional preparedness and unity
THE Pacific region continues to strengthen its collective capacity to respond to disasters through the Pacific Response Group (PRG) — a regional initiative that brings together defence forces from across the Pacific
Vanuatu’s CBD partially re-opens more than two months after killer quake
Vanuatu authorities have reopened parts of Port Vila’s central business district more than two months after it was devastated by a massive magnitude-7.3 earthquake. Over 14 people were killed during the 17
Building Resilience Together: Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Pacific
As global debates on climate finance, loss and damage and urgent climate action continued at the COP29 Climate Talks, the Pacific region remains on the frontlines of climate change. For Pacific communities, climate
Cyclone risks for Pacific Island hospitals modelled
Cyclone and extreme weather risks for individual hospitals across Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Tonga are being modelled in a study led out of Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. Climate models with
200 bodies yet to be recovered PNG landslide
About 200 persons are still to be recovered with 11 bodies retrieved and buried from the 24 May Landslide in Enga’s Mulitaka, according to Enga administrator Sandis Tsaka. Tsaka, who is also the disaster committee
Survivors of PNG landslide :“The stones from the mountain keep falling, we are afraid more could be killed, we don’t sleep at night”
“We don’t have a place to stay, and we barely eat and drink. We have nothing left,” said a survivor of the landslide in Papua New Guinea’s Enga Province. Twenty-year-old Frida Yeahkal, a community member whose
PNG landslide: Thousands more to evacuate as death toll mounts
Six villages down hill from the landslide disaster that has claimed an estimated 670 lives in Papua New Guinea’s highlands will be evacuated over fears more of the mountainside will crush them. The landslide in
More than 670 people now feared dead following PNG landslide
A United Nations agency has confirmed more than 670 people are presumed dead following a landslide in Papua New Guinea’s highlands on Friday. The International Organisation for Migration’s Chief of Mission
State of Emergency declared in East Sepik Province
Papua New Guinea’s East Sepik Provincial Administration has declared a state of emergency, effective Monday, until further notice. Mother nature in the last few days had caused flooding and destruction in Middle-Sepik
Three dead, 93 houses collapsed after 7.0 magnitude earthquake strikes East Sepik
East Sepik province in Papua New Guinea, which has been struggling with heavy flooding for the past weeks, was hit by a huge earthquake Sunday morning, doubling the pain for the Sepik River and wetland people. The 7.0
Complaints mount at PNG ‘care centers’ for volcano displaced
Several thousand people remain in limbo three months after the eruption of Papua New Guinea’s Mt Ulawun, living at muddy camps euphemistically named “care centres” by authorities, and increasingly unhappy about
Upgrades for five seismic network stations in Tonga
An upgrade to Tonga’s Seismic Network will cover five strategically positioned stations at Nukuhetulu, Tongatapu; Mt Talau Vava’u; Hihifo, Ha’apai; Niuafo’ou High School, Niuafo’ou; and Hihifo. Niuatoputapu,
Volcanic eruption in PNG displaces 26,000 people
A volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea has forced the evacuation of more than 26,000 people over the past week and created urgent humanitarian needs, a disaster official said Tuesday. Mudslides have followed the 20
Thousands evacuated, flights cancelled as Mt Ulawun in PNG erupts
The Mt Ulawun volcano in Papua New Guinea erupted Monday, forcing the evacuation of more than 5,000 persons, cancellation of flights into and out of Hoskins, and ashfall affecting a wide area. Air Niugini suspended all
‘Tipping points’ of risk pose new threats, UN report warns
A new UN report launched on Wednesday has some useful insights on “risk tipping points” which are becoming an increasing challenge worldwide. Tipping points are reached when the systems we rely on stop functioning
All clear given in Vanuatu, Lola downgraded to Ex-Tropical Cyclone
Vanuatu disaster authorities issued an all clear for the country as ex-cyclone Lola was downgraded to a tropical low system at 6.34am local time on Thursday. In the final warning bulletin issued by the Vanuatu
At least 36 people died in wildfires in Hawaii
A search of the wildfire devastation on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of obliterated neighborhoods and landmarks charred beyond recognition, as the death toll reached at least 36 and
Temperatures off the charts, but more records imminent: WMO
Global sea surface temperatures reached a record high in May, June, and July – and the warming El Niño weather pattern is only just getting started – experts at the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said
Guam A-G on typhoon recovery: ‘We’ve been living like cave people’
Guam’s Office of the Attorney General is investigating aspects of the government’s typhoon recovery response, including problems with the public water supply after the storm. “This disaster recovery was
$8M to support Kiribati’s drought relief efforts
An $8 million grant has been disbursed by the Asian Development Bank to the Government of Kiribati to help fund drought relief efforts. ADB says the support comes after a state of emergency was declared last month in
Born in a typhoon: Many, including newborns, remain without electricity as Guam recovers from storm
Most of the Guam remained without electricity and the governor appealed for patience during a recovery process expected to take at least a