drought

US declares drought disaster

US declares drought disaster

President Barack Obama’s Presidential Disaster Declaration (PDD) late last week has opened the doors to additional US federal aid for drought relief in the Marshall Islands. “The PDD allows us to tap into FEMA resources,” said USAID Office for Disaster Assistance Regional Advisor Dan Dieckhaus, who is based at the US Embassy in Majuro. Earlier […]

El Niño water struggles

El Niño water struggles

“One of the strongest El Niño events in recorded history remains entrenched across the equatorial Pacific Ocean,” said Guam-based weather officials in their latest drought update. The report said “all locations across the Marshall Islands are in a severe or extreme drought.” They also predict that there will likely be “severe damage to food crops […]

Drought continues unabated

Drought continues unabated

As the El Niño-caused drought continues in the north Pacific, all three of the US-affiliated island nations have declared emergency conditions to speed government-provided relief. “Extreme drought continues across much of Micronesia” and is worsening, said Guam-based US National Weather Service officials in a bulletin last week. The Marshall Islands was first to declare a […]

An amazing ‘dry’ season

An amazing ‘dry’ season

Journal 4/2/1976 P6 Working hard The Marshall Islands Nitijela is entering its third week of the 23rd Regular Session continuing a brisk and business like tenor with fully 119 pieces of legislation under consideration. Most significant of developments so far is the double resignations of Iroijs Albert Loeak and Joba Kabua, both of whom withdrew […]

Public Works launches drought response

The Ministry of Public Works was busy from Monday setting up water distribution facilities at Majuro elementary schools. On Monday morning, a team was at Rita Elementary installing pipes and spigots that will be attached to tanks for community water use. “We still have seven more to locate at Jenrok Village, Delap Park, Delap Elementary […]

Making water from air

Making water from air

A project to harvest fresh water using simple and affordable equipment was this month officially handed over to the grateful community of Ailuk Atoll, which regularly suffers from drought conditions. In March and April last year, Dustin Langidrik, the University of the South Pacific’s Climate Change project coordinator worked with British environment researchers Andrew Tweedie […]

Mayor Jack seeks RO machines

Mayor Jack seeks RO machines

The drought, after teasing Majuro and Ebeye with a bit of rain in December, has put its cards on the table, and it’s a winner — if you like being thirsty and not taking showers. Reservoir levels dropped dramatically during the first three weeks of January, down by about 10 million gallons compared to mid-December. […]

RMI drought intensifies

A drought announcement was issued Friday by US Weather officials, describing increasingly dry conditions to be expected in the Marshall Islands, Palau and Yap as a result of one of the worst El Niño’s to hit the Pacific in recent times. Parts of the Marshall Islands are already into a period of “moderate to severe […]