The global cost of disasters is growing: The economic burden of disasters is intensifying. While the direct costs of disasters averaged $70–80 billion a year between 1970 and 2000, between 2001 and 2020 these annual costs grew significantly to $180–200 billion. But the real cost is far higher. Disaster costs …
The study finds that while micro enterprise financing in Samoa is accessible to much of the population, only 50 per cent of small and medium enterprise (SMEs) have obtained commercial finance. The studies analyse the supply and demand of financial services for MSMEs within Samoa’s existing policy and regulatory frameworks …
An epidemic of Ross River virus (RRV) occurred in the South Pacific in 1979–1980, but RRV has not been thought to occur endemically outside Australia and Papua New Guinea. A seroprevalence study was conducted to determine whether RRV has circulated in American Samoa since 1980. Original Source
A remote tropical island has catapulted itself headlong into the future by ditching diesel and powering all homes and businesses with the scorching South Pacific sun. Using more than 5,000 solar panels and 60 Tesla power packs the tiny island of Ta’u in American Samoa is now entirely self-sufficient for …
Samoa has been hit by a hail storm so rare that it was believed to be a hoax by many of the island’s inhabitants. The tropical nation of Samoa lies in the Pacific Ocean, where the average temperature at this time of year is 29C. But on Friday evening an …
Australia's small island neighbours in the South Pacific face an enormous bill to protect their coastal buildings and infrastructure from the impacts of climate change and extreme weather, one they are unlikely to afford. Research out of the University of New England has for the first time sought to determine …
After several tsunami events with disastrous consequences around the world, coastal countries have realized the need to be prepared to minimize human mortality and damage to coastal infrastructures, livelihoods and resources. The international scientific community is striving to develop and validate methodologies for tsunami hazard and vulnerability and risk assessments. …
(Reuters) - An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 struck off Samoa in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, just hours after a major tremor rattled nearby Papua New Guinea. The epicentre of the quake was measured 77 miles (124 km)west-southwest of the capital Apia, …
Pacific Islanders have been exposed to risks associated with climate change. Samoa as one of the Pacific Islands are prone to climatic hazards that will likely increase in coming decades, affecting coastal communities and infrastructure around the islands. Climate models do not predict a reduction of such disaster events in …
European Commissioner for Development said on Monday the European Union (EU) will continue supporting Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to address their specific vulnerabilities and challenges. Commissioner Andris Piebalgs made the remarks in an international conference in Samoa, according to an EU statement issued in Brussels. "We have been, and …
Small island nations, particularly those in the Pacific, are already experiencing "extreme effects" from global warming, and rich nations including Australia have a "moral responsibility" to help them cope with future unavoidable threats, a senior World Bank executive said. Atoll nations including Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands are seeing …
A shallow earthquake of magnitude 5.6 struck off the tiny South Pacific nation of Samoa, the United States Geological Survey said on Tuesday. The quake struck 136 miles (219 km) southwest of Apia, the capital, at a depth of 6.2 miles (10 km), the USGS said. There were no immediate …
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to grant a Dh22 million (MVR92 million) loan to the Maldives to help clean energy projects undertaken by the government. The National, an Abu Dhabi-based English language daily, said the loan would help the Maldives government to build a waste-to-energy plant aimed at …
The changes will result from the South Pacific rain band responding to greenhouse warming. The South Pacific rain band is largest and most persistent of the Southern Hemisphere spanning the Pacific from south of the Equator, south-eastward to French Polynesia. Occasionally, the rain band moves northwards towards the Equator by …
With the threat of increased disasters from climate change, many countries are already taking steps to reduce their vulnerability to weather and climatic hazards, such as floods, cyclones, heatwaves and droughts. Adaptation to climate change is a relatively new concern, but it can call on a rich tradition spanning many …
This note reports on examples of recent experience in eight countries where national and local governments and civil society participants have worked to strengthen their disaster risk reduction and adaptation actions. These cases, along with similar experience in other countries, provide a number of useful insights and lessons for climate …
Samoa Villages Flattened By 20-Ft Waves Apia (Samoa): A massive tsunami unleashed by a powerful earthquake flattened Samoan villages and swept cars and people out to sea, killing more than 100 people and leaving dozens missing on Wednesday. The death toll was expected to rise. Survivors fled the fastchurning water …
This document presents the results of a partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the University of the South Pacific. It presents the issues and requirements that Pacific islands face regarding the impacts of climate change …
The Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) programme supports community-driven climate change adaptation projects through small-scale grants and leverages lessons emerging from projects to catalyze change in national and sub-national policy in support of systematic adaptation. The CBA project also promotes global learning on community-based adaptation through an evidence-based approach based on project- …
Samoa has sown the seeds of a bitter intellectual property rights battle in the Pacific region, claiming sole rights over a gene-sequence found in the mamala tree (Homalanthus nutans) used to make the aids and cancer drug prostratin. But the tree grows widely across the Pacific and has been used …
