Catchment Project
Monday 28 November 2022
Malifa (MESC HQ Compound)
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.