MAJURO — With American weather forecasters predicting a weak to moderate El Niño weather event later this year, Marshall Islands officials have already launched preparations for an anticipated drought.
U.S. weather forecasters say that the global impacts of this year’s El Niño should be less than those experienced during the strong 1998 El Niño.
But that hasn’t stopped government preparations in the Marshall Islands.
Local authorities have begun dusting off reverse osmosis water making units that were mothballed after the 1998 El Niño caused a severe six month drought in the Marshall Islands and much of the central Pacific area.
Ministry of Finance official Carl Hacker said that preparations, including insuring that water making units are in working condition, are well underway. Funding from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency for “drought mitigation” has allowed the Marshall Islands government to buy more than 1,500 water catchment tanks for distribution on isolated islands that have few fresh water resources. The government’s disaster response agency is also positioning water storage “bladders” in strategic locations to be ready for water distribution needs.
Majuro, the country’s capital, relies nearly 100 percent on rain for its fresh water. Currently, its 36 million gallon reservoir is full, thanks to a strong start to its rainy season in May. But water company board chairman William Roberts said the experience with El Niño here is that there is a deluge of rain and then suddenly it stops raining for months, forcing severe water rationing. During the 1998 El Niño, city water was pumped only one day every two weeks because water stocks fell so low.
