Drought in Tuvalu 2011

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Map of Tuvalu.

The drought in Tuvalu 2011 ( English 2011 Tuvalu drought ) was an extreme drought in Tuvalu , the island nation in the South Pacific . A state of emergency was declared on September 28, 2011 and drinking water was rationed. The La Niña event, which was the cause of the drought, ended in April – May 2012. As early as August 2012, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indicated that the tropical Pacific was already turning into an El Niño event again .

background

Tuvalu is influenced at irregular intervals by El Niño and La Niña events, during which the ocean temperatures in the equatorial and central Pacific show strong fluctuations. El Niño effects increase the risk of tropical hurricanes (cyclones); while La Niña effects bring the risk of droughts in Tuvalu.

For its water supply, Tuvalu mainly depends on the storage of rainwater, which is stored in tanks. Usually, between 200 and 400 mm of rain falls per month.

Events

Tuvalu Meteorological Service , Fongafale , Funafuti .

The country was hit by a prolonged period of drought in the second half of 2011, which was attributed to La Niña effects: the cooling of the surface temperature of the ocean around Tuvalu resulted in lower precipitation. In October 2011, the Tuvalu Red Cross reported that there had been no normal rainfall for six months. The capital, Funafuti , and several of the outer atolls were particularly hard hit by the drought. Nukulaelae and Nanumaga were particularly hard hit. The drought on Nukulaelae also affected the vast majority of the Pulaka Pits - the cultivation areas for Pulaka (swamp taro), an important staple food. The drought on Vaitupu was also severe, but not as bad as on the other islands.

Declaration of a state of emergency

The government declared a state of emergency on September 28, 2011 due to severe water shortages in the capital, Funafuti. Water in Funafuti and Nukulaelae has been rationed.

The households had to limit themselves to two buckets (40 l) of drinking water per day. Many Tuvaluans have been forced to buy imported food as their own crops have been cut off by the drought. The Princess Margaret Hospital limited the admission of patients, because the fear was that water deficiency diseases would increase.

The Secretary General of the Tuvalu Red Cross, Tataua Pefe , reported that the lack of rain had led to contamination of the remaining groundwater supplies ("It's not safe for consumption ... Some animals have died recently and we think it's because of subterranean water").

Lack of rainfall had also affected other countries and territories in the region, including American Samoa , Samoa , Tokelau, and Tonga .

International aid

Public water distribution point in Funafuti, Tuvalu 2011 ( Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) , DFAT).

New Zealand began air freighting food and drinking water on Monday 3rd October 2011. The government of New Zealand had received news from Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully in the preceding days that Tuvalu only had water supplies for two days. A New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane brought two seawater desalination plants and large containers of drinking water to Funafuti. Australia also sent a desalination plant.

Officials from various aid organizations , including the International Red Cross and the Tuvalu Red Cross, worked with the governments of New Zealand and Tuvalu.

The government of South Korea financed the transport of 60,000 bottles of water from Fiji to Tuvalu. The governments of Australia and New Zealand responded by supplying desalination plants and assisting in the repair of the existing desalination plant that Japan supplied in 2006 .

Japan subsequently financed the purchase of a 100 m³ / d desalination plant and two transportable 10 m³ / d plants as part of the Pacific Environment Community Progam (PEC). Aid programs from the European Union in 2010 and 2011 and from Australia made it possible to purchase additional tanks to increase capacity in the more remote islands as part of a long-term solution for storing drinking water. Australia also funded the installation of water tanks in Funafuti and the expansion of a roof collection and drainage system for households to collect more water. In July 2012, a United Nations envoy (United Nations Special Rapporteur) urged the government of Tuvalu to develop a national water strategy to ensure access to drinking water and hygiene.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Tuvalu: state of emergency declared over water shortages. In: The Daily Telegraph 2011-10-03
  2. ↑ a b c d e Matthew Benns: Tuvalu 'to run out of water by Tuesday'. In: The Daily Telegraph 2011-10-03
  3. ↑ a b c Timoci Vula: Serious' on Tuvalu. In: Fiji Times 2011-10-06 [1]
  4. ↑ Steve Boland: Tuvalu Water Crisis: Photos from Funafuti . October 13, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  5. ↑ Iceland Climate Update 140 - May 2012 . NIWA, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research of New Zealand. May 15, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  6. ↑ Iceland Climate Update 143 - August 2012 . NIWA, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research of New Zealand. August 3, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  7. ^ El Niño and La Niña . Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  8. ^ PA Kingston: Surveillance of Drinking Water Quality in the Pacific Islands: Situation Analysis And Needs Assessment, Country Reports WHO 2004.
  9. ↑ a b c d Tuvalu: state of emergency declared over water shortages. Radio New Zealand 2011-10-03.
  10. ↑ Tuvalu's crippling drought offers important lessons to the Pacific . In: Secretariat of the Pacific Community . October 6, 2011. Accessed April 24, 2015.
  11. ↑ a b c Tufoua Panapa: Ethnographic Research on Meanings and Practices of Health in Tuvalu: A Community Report . Report to the Tuvaluan Ministries of Health and Education: PhD Candidate Center for Development Studies - “Transnational Pacific Health through the Lens of Tuberculosis” Research Group. Department of Anthropology, The University of Auckland, NZ. 2012. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  12. ↑ Drinking water rationed in Tuvalu . Radio New Zealand. October 4, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  13. ↑ Water rationing Continues in Tuvalu . Radio New Zealand. October 10, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  14. ^ A b Alistair Macrae: Tuvalu in a fight for its life . The Drum - Australian Broadcasting Corporation. October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  15. ^ Information Bulletin - Tuvalu Drought . International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Organizations. October 14, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  16. ^ A b c Toby Manhire: Tuvalu drought could be dry run for dealing with climate change . The Guardian. October 17, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  17. ^ Forecaster sees little relief for drought hit areas in Pacific. Radio New Zealand International 2011-10-02.
  18. ↑ Tuvalu 'to run out of water by Tuesday' , October 3, 2011
  19. ↑ Ioane Burese: Korea joins Tuvalu aid. in: The Fijian Times. Suva October 29, 2011 [2] May 15, 2013.
  20. ↑ Critical water shortage in Tuvalu eases, but more rationing needed . Radio New Zealand. October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  21. ↑ APNZ, AP: NZ helps Tuvalu with fresh water emergency . New Zealand Herald. October 3, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  22. ↑ Japan Provides Desalination Plant to Relieve Tuvalu's Water Problems . Embassy of Japan in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. June 2, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  23. ↑ Japan-New Zealand Aid Cooperation in response to severe water shortage in Tuvalu . Department of Foreign Affairs of Japan. November 4, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  24. ↑ Japanese fund three desalination plants for Tuvalu . The International Desalination & Water Reuse Quarterly industry website. October 17, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  25. ^ Tuvalu - 10th European Development Fund . Delegation of the European Union. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  26. ↑ Tuvalu / Water, Waste and Sanitation Project (TWWSP): CRIS FED / 2009 / 021-195, ANNEX . European Union. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  27. ^ Richard Marle, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs (Australia): Climate change poses a Pacific problem . The Punch - News Limited. October 12, 2011. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  28. ↑ Recent achievements of the aid program in Tuvalu . AusAID. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  29. ↑ Mission to Tuvalu - Press Statement United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation . Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, United Nations Special Rapporteur. July 19, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  30. ^ Tuvalu urged to develop national water strategy . Australian Network News. July 19, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.

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