Keynote Address by Hon Minister, Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster for the Official Launching of the Flood Sirens under the GCF Vaisigano Catchment Project

SAMOA, November 29 - Lau susuga i le taitai o le sauniga, Susuga Sale Uelese

Mr Jorn Sorensen, UNDP MCO Resident Representative

Members of the Diplomatic Corp

CEOs of Ministries and Organisations

Distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

• I extend to you all warm greetings on behalf of the Government. 

• Today marks another significant milestone in our continual efforts to enhance Samoa’s resilience to climate induced natural disasters through better preparedness strategies and effective and timely response actions. 

• The establishment of a Flood Warning Siren Network has been in the works for quite some time and I am very pleased to see this work come to fruition with the launch of the five (5) flood warning sirens in the Vaisigano Catchment. 

• The total cost of this project is NZ$603,483.  I extend our utmost appreciation and gratitude to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and UNDP for the financial support.   I acknowledge also MCS New Zealand who was contracted to procure and install the five sirens.  

• The GCF Vaisigano Catchment Project is a six-year project which started in 2017 and aims to achieve ‘Strengthened Adaptive Capacity & Reduced Exposure to Climate Risk of Vulnerable Livelihoods & Infrastructure in the Vaisigano River Catchment’. Installation of the Flood Warning Sirens is a crucial step forward to achieving the project’s overall goal.

• The sirens will provide effective and timely flood warnings to vulnerable communities residing along river banks and flood plains to respond quickly to flood disasters in order to save lives.   Each siren has a:
• Warning Tone/Sound;
• Warning Voice; and
• Warning Lights

• The sirens will also be used to provide warnings on other natural hazards such as tsunamis and tropical cyclones.  They are strategically located at the EPC Tanugamanono Power Station, Apia Park, Magiagi reserve, Lalovaea and here in the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture compound.

• The five sirens have been set up to connect to the existing emergency radio network and tsunami siren network to ensure our early warning systems are integrated and well-coordinated for effective preparedness, monitoring and response actions. 

• I must however, underscore the importance of ensuring these sirens are well looked after and regularly maintained to ensure they remain operational and effective for many years to come.  

• The Vaisigano Flood Warning Siren Network, will greatly enhance our national multi-hazard early warning system, a collaboration of the Government of Samoa and the World Bank in response to Samoa’s national prioritised Pathway for Development 2022 – 2026 towards a climate resilient Samoa. 

• Additionally, I am happy to note that this milestone achievement further reaffirms Samoa’s commitment to contribute positively towards the realization of regional and international goals under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the 2015 Paris Agreement for Climate Change, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific 2017-2030 and the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

• In closing I wish to thank our partners once again for your continued support and we look forward to the same as we look to replicate this great work to other priority river networks to save more lives.  

Thank you and Soifua.