The country of Fiji is an island country that attracts a large number of tourists every year. In addition to the popular vacation destination, the islands also have many islanders who call Fiji home. Of the over 300 island, and 500 islets, 110 of them are currently inhabited. In order to keep all of the people visiting, and permanently living, on the islands safe, it is important to address these key natural disasters that this country deals will on a regular basis.
The first naturally occurring disaster that I would like to address is the current temperature change across the world. Due to the large amounts of green house gases that are being produced and released into the atmosphere, the world has become warmer. The reason this is such a big deal for Fiji is not the direct weather change becoming hotter, but is a more indirect affect. The increased earths temperature is melting the ice that is on both ends of the earths axis. The melting glaciers are then adding more water into the ocean causing a rise in sea level and this is what directly affects the islands of Fiji.
Having an increase in sea level brings a very negative affect to Fiji because the current geography is being changed. As already stated, the country of Fiji consists of many islands of varying sizes. As the sea levels increase the land space decreases because more and more land will be below the tides of the ocean. This has already caused many problems in this country and will continue to cause more as time passes. Entire villages have been moved because they their homes have been flooded, or the land is eroding and creating an unstable environment for their homes.
Flooding and land erosion are serious naturally occurring disasters that occur all over, but in Fiji they are currently causing a large problem. Flooding occurs in Fiji not only from rain, but also the rise in sea level. Flooding is bad because it can destroy crops, damage buildings, and damage the overall productivity of the space being flooded. Flooding Fiji also makes if harder to get to certain people and insure that all the islanders have living essentials at their disposal. Land erosion occurs when there is soil detachment, and then the top layer, or possibly more layers than one, get moved to a new location and then deposited elsewhere. In Fiji’s case, the main eroding problem occurs when the soil is being moved into the ocean and the land above the ocean is decreased.
Because of these issues in Fiji, I recommend that the government and individual families and businesses prepare in advance as much as possible. The islands need to closely monitor the buildings near the seas edges to make sure that their foundations hold strong and can support the people within the homes. Making sure that there is public awareness, both in adults and children, about what to do and how they personally need to prepare and respond. Individuals need to make sure to store water and food in case they are ever flooded in. Also, first aid, radio, batteries, and other home essentials should be stored. Not relying on government employees to cheek the foundations of homes but taking it upon the home owners themselves to insure their property is safe. Having all of these things will help insure safety. However, in the future if the sea level continues to rise, there were be more villages that will need to move. Though some have already starting migrating to other locations, Fiji needs to have a plan for where their people can live in the future with the growing population and decreasing land space.
While I understand that there are a number of natural disasters that Fiji, and any other country, has to consider as being a major threat, I believe that Fiji should closely monitor the sea level changes. Though it may not seem as important as hurricanes and fires, I believe it is. Due to the lack of preparedness that the island currently has for the future of this matter, I hope that people will begin to see the real danger that the climate change could potentially bring to the islands of Fiji.
