E a Ulu tafega, ae selefutia ai Vaisigano
When the brook Ulu floods at the top, the Vaisigano river downstream will sustain the damage
by Laufālē’ainā Lesā, Communications Analyst, UNDP Samoa
The Samoan proverb in the story title derives directly from the Vaisigano, the largest river on the island of Upolu, and considered one of the main rivers in Samoa due to its length and reach.
The Vaisigano River empties out into the sea in the capital, Apia. Some legends have it that along the way, the Vaisigano River is joined by the mountain brook, Ulu, just above the village of Magiagi to the south of Apia. The latter is usually dry, but after heavy rains, it turns into a raging torrent and its waters often damage the banks of the Vaisigano floodplain downstream.
This speaks to the traditional knowledge that has long existed about the extent of the havoc wreaked when the Vaisigano River bursts its banks.
It’s a threat that has always existed, but has been made extremely difficult to cope with in the present day due to the impacts of climate change. It was why this river became the focus of the Green Climate Fund’s first ever project in Samoa — the Vaisigano Catchment Project. The river is at the heart of this project to strengthen the country’s adaptive capacity and reduce exposure to climate risks faced by vulnerable communities and infrastructure in the Vaisigano River catchment.
The proverb also speaks of past actions that may have been done out of ignorance and focused on the short term (deforestation, infrastructural development, settlement and other farming activities that required the clearing of the land), but over the years have reaped flooding and widespread damage, exacerbated by climate change.
Massive flooding associated with extreme rainfall from Tropical Cyclone Evan, occurred in the area in late 2012. The total economic impact of that cyclone was estimated at 40 percent of Samoa’s GDP at the time.
Early Warning Systems save lives
To ensure that the scale of the damage in future events will not reach the same devastating lows, the GCF-VCP employed an integrated approach to reducing vulnerability to flood-related risks including activities to flood-proof key infrastructure, and upgrade downstream areas to increase river capacity and allow for more rapid outflow of flood waters.
“As part of soft adaptation measures, this included enhancing the early warning system (EWS), to ensure that people are alerted well in advance, thus enabling them to carry out actions to minimize the adverse effects of flooding events in the area,” said Lealaisalanoa Frances Reupena, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Five new sirens, specifically for flood alerts, have now been installed in key, strategic locations, and activated under the project. These are a first in Samoa and the region. Another first is that the sirens can also issue voice announcements and have flashing lights to alert people with hearing difficulties.
They cover a wide area ranging from Fagali’i, Moata’a and the Apia Park stadium on the eastern side of Apia, to Magiagi, Lelata, Vailima to the southern hills, to Tanugamanono, Malifa, Lalovaea to Mulinuu to the west, and throughout all of the flood-prone areas in Apia — all within the vicinity and reach of the Vaisigano River catchment.
Working together for everyone’s safety
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) is the main entity responsible for installing, activating and maintaining the Early Warning System (EWS) through its Meteorology Division, its Disaster Management Office (DMO) and the its Water Resources Division (WRD).
The WRD monitors river levels, through the use of new rain gauges, river loggers and other specialist equipment, procured under the GCF-VCP. If rainfall or river levels reach certain thresholds, the WRD collaborates with the Meteorology Division which issues a flood warning. When extreme levels or thresholds are reached, the DMO will activate or sound the sirens.
The flood sirens have now been integrated into the national Emergency Siren Network, housed within the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) at Tuanaimato. The network is used as a multi-hazard siren to incorporate alerts for other hazards such as tsunamis.
“The sirens have been installed in strategic locations where they can reach the multitudes. The flood sirens are a great model which can incorporate alerts for other hazards. I am extremely happy about this as it means that we are now better prepared in this area of early warning, and giving our people enough time to mobilize and move to higher, safer grounds,” said Fesola’i Molly Nielsen, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, DMO.
The new sirens are more than just flood alerts. They will now also be used for tsunami and other hazards. It is hoped that more such sirens will be installed throughout the country, but the GCF-VCP has laid the foundation for the current system, and its potential to be a life-saving system or device, for the entire country.
The final phase of this component is rolling out the post-awareness campaign in the target communities around the Vaisigano area, of how the early warning system and flood sirens work, and what they can do. The area includes 32 villages and 20 schools. The campaign will be implemented later in the year, and will involve a drill to test the system and people’s response.
Enhancing hydrological monitoring within the Vaisigano Catchment
The Water Resources Division (WRD) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is in charge of monitoring river levels. They’ve been using equipment that were last updated in 2007 to do this critical work.
Under the GCF-VCP, the WRD has been able to install three river level stations and five rain gauges which have boosted the national Flood Decision Support System (FDSS).
“I am really happy to get this opportunity under the GCF-VCP to fund new hydrological monitoring equipment. Most projects don’t fund these kinds of upgrades, but thanks to this project, we have been able to obtain these much-needed rain gauges and river flood monitoring equipment that have helped equip us for this critical work within the Vaisigano Catchment,” said Asuao Malaki Iakopo, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Water Resources Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
This component of the GCF-VCP also included other soft measures such as tree planting at Malololelei, Afiamalu and upland areas to protect the water catchment. River dredging was also carried out in some parts of the Vaisigano floodplain to widen the river channel, to allow for more water to flow through, especially during heavy rain events and flash flooding.
These measures were done in recognition of the fact that it takes both soft and hard measures to alleviate existing problems. This was also in acknowledgement of the need for all encompassing solutions at all levels.
This was part of implementing ecosystem responses upstream to increase flood retention, decreasing runoff during extreme weather events.
“This has been a really good experience for Samoa especially in being able to access GCF funding for the first time, and being able to have a major integrated project endorsed with a budget of US$65 million. This is a key milestone in itself. It is also a great opportunity and achievement for us, that this project deals directly with addressing one of the most pressing issues of our time — flooding, which has caused substantial loss and damage impacts on our environment, economy and social wellbeing,” said Lealaisalanoa.
The new telemetry system now used in river monitoring and subsequent flood monitoring, is automated and online, replacing the previous manual one. This means that information is relayed from the equipment to the relevant authorities in real time.
This was a huge undertaking for the WRD and MNRE. It was a big contract to manage as they not only had to procure the machines, but also design the system, then install, upgrade, maintain and calibrate the monitoring stations.
The system is directly linked to the Meteorology Division and DMO; enabling an integrated and centralized system for the first time, thus improving communication, data sharing and collaboration between the agencies — effectively harmonizing work.
Due to the novelty of many of the aspects of the system, there was a big training component attached to this part of the project. This was mainly done online during COVID-19, but also in person when time and circumstances permitted.
“One of the GCF-VCP funded activities under MNRE, allowed a number of civil servant technicians and engineers within the key implementing agencies to take part in the Two-Dimensional Unsteady Flow (TUFLOW) training rolled out for three weeks in February 2021. The local technical personnel were fortunate as they were equipped with relevant tools and capability to run flood modelling scenarios that could be applied towards identification and implementation of flood mitigation and protection measures. I am very grateful to GCF for the funds that made this capacity building initiative possible,” said Tevaga Pisaina Leilua-Lei Sam, GCF-VCP Project Manager.
“Flooding in the Vaisigano impacts a wide range of stakeholders in different ways. As such, a solution will not be a one-size fits all, but rather a suite of actions of both soft and hard natures. This new, improved early warning system is one of the many that we have had the opportunity to implement, and will help minimize the effects of flooding on residents and businesses within the area. It is a critical step towards flood management in general,” said Asuao.
Flooding in Samoa is a cross-cutting issue — it affects everyone. As such, everyone has a mandate and role to play.
It is the only way to ensure that the effects that the long-held adage, E a Ulu tafega, ae selefutia ai Vaisigano, spoke of, are significantly reduced and minimized.
-ENDS-
