Nadi must prepare for floods before waters rise: Dawai

Nadi must shift from respond­ing to floods after they hap­pen to preparing for them before water level rises, Fiji Red Cross Society director general Ra­gigia Dawai says.

Ms Dawai said repetitive flooding was affecting homes, livelihoods, schools and businesses.

Speaking at the Pre-COP31 Stake­holder Event on Climate Finance for Local Flood Adaptation - Solu­tions for the Nadi Catchment held at Soft.tel Fiji Resort and Spa at Denarau yesterday, she said com­munities must be at the centre of decisions on flood adaptation.

"Flooding in the Nadi catchment is no longer something communi­ties experience occasionally and then leave behind. It is becom­ing part of the conditions under which decisions are made about their homes, their livelihoods, busi­nesses, schools and daily lives," she said.

Ms Dawai, who is from Nadi, said she had personally experienced the effects of major floods, including those in 2009 and 2012.

She said communities already knew which roads became inac­cessible, which households needed help and how flooding affected livelihoods.

"Emergency response will always be necessary. But if our work be­gins only when the water has al­ready risen, we've already missed opportunities to reduce the conse­quences," she said.

Ms Dawai said anticipatory action such as early warnings, evacuation planning, protecting water supplies and pre-positioning essential sup­plies could reduce the impact of flooding.

Building resilience

"The challenges in the Nadi catch­ment are bigger than any house­hold, one household, or any one village, organisation, or agency can tackle."

She said long-term investment, technical expertise, planning and strong partnerships were needed to build resilience.

"That future will not be created by one intervention or one organi­sation. It will be built through the decisions we make now, where we invest, whose knowledge we use, how early we can act, and whether the people living with the risk have a meaningful say in the solutions," she said.

The Fiji Red Cross has more than 1400 volunteers supporting commu­nities across Fiji, including early warning, preparedness and youth climate adaptation initiatives.