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This Week
in Marshall Islands' History
Researched, compiled and edited by
Aenet Rowa
Yokwe Online webmaster
The Drought of 1998
- All photos by FEMA
news
Getting Water in Ebeye
This Week in May 1998
May 15, 1998 - Drought Recovery Update:
The first ship delivering food is scheduled to leave Majuro today, with two additional ships
following soon thereafter.
Increasing rainfall on the island and the production of fresh water by Reverse Osmosis Water
Production Units (ROWPUs) has
helped ease the water shortage situation. ROWPUs are also effectively easing the critical need
for water on the RMI's other
two main islands, Ebeye and Jaluit. The Public Assistance disaster program has processed three
Damage Survey Reports and
obligated nearly $6 million to this disaster recovery effort.
(FEMA) >>>more
Background: October '97 - March '98
The Marshall Islands was in the midst a serious water shortage and record-
breaking drought during the first half of 1998. The entire Pacific region
was being affected by the El Nino warming. On March 20, US President
Clinton declared the RMI in an official state of emergency with FEMA
pledging $980,000. Aid and relief began to pour into the islands.
Global Warming
Since 1970, global annual temperature has risen nearly 1°F.
The rate of warming has been 0.36°F per decade since 1976. The top six
warmest years on record occurred during the 1990's. The warmest was 1998, and
the second warmest was 1997.
(Environmental Defense) >>>more
A young lady on Majuro uses a rope and
bucket to retrieve water from newly dug well.
Western Climate & Water Status
As is common during El Niño, Hawaii has developed a very
significant drought, and even more severe drought affected other oceanic
sites such as the Marshall Islands. Majuro's waterconsumption was reduced
to four gallons per person per day, with a
corresponding figure of just one gallon per person per day on Ebeye.
(WDCC) >>>more
El Niño-Caused Federal Disasters
Federal Emergency Management Agency April 1 report. Marshall
Islands; drought, crop losses; March 20, 1998 $980,000 is pledged.
(Washingtonpost Online) >>>more
March 26, 1998
Meteorologists were correct in forecasting severe drought conditions for the western Pacific
Ocean due
to the El Niño phenomenon. The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has been severely impacted
with
little or no rain since October 1997 and the seasonal average is expected to remain at only 10
percent
until June. Majuro and Ebeye Islands have been hardest hit of the island chain.
(FEMA) >>>more
Hundreds await the unloading of the ROWPUS
at Majuro Airport, April 3.
April '98
The major assistance with the ROWPUS sent to Ebeye, Jaluit and Majuro.
Desalination System Produces First Pure Drinking Water
April 13 - Shipped from Lifestream's Huntington Beach factory, the skid mounted 31,680 Gallon/Day
Reverse Osmosis Desalination System was transported by a C-130 Transport Charter to Ebeye on the
Kwajalein Atoll. Within days the systems was delivering much needed water to
the community of 13,000 people.
(Lifestreamswater, Inc) >>>more
Purification of Ocean Water: Key to Drought Recovery
Due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, the most densely
populated place on the planet is suffering from a lack of water. Within one
of the Marshall atolls is Ebeye an 80-acre island that has 13,000 residents,
making it the most populated spot on the planet per-square-mile.
(FEMA) >>>more
May '98
Drought Recovery Update
May 15 - On Majuro, the water system is delivering fresh water to residents one day out of every
five.
This is an improvement from the one day out of each fourteen that the system was able to reach in
March,
prior to the major disaster declaration. Increasing rainfall on the island and the production of
fresh
water by ROWPUs has helped ease the water shortage situation.
(FEMA) >>>more
Emergency Food Distribution Begins
May 22 - As part of the federal drought recovery efforts, the first shipments of emergency food
have
been delivered to thousands of Marshallese residents. On May 15 four local ships from the
Republic of
the Marshall Islands (RMI) began delivery of food to 20 atolls/islands.
(FEMA) >>>more
Family and friends work together
to overcome the effects
of the El Nino driven drought.
June '98 - '99
The drought created an agricultural disaster for the outer islands extending to 1999.
Emergency Food Shipment Arrives
June 22, 1998 -- The first 30-day shipment of food for victims of drought in the Republic of the
Marshall Islands arrived
on Majuro Atoll June 20. The food is for families who live off their own agricultural crops,
which failed to grow as a
result of the drought.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, American Red Cross, U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the
Marshallese
government are coordinating the food distribution. Twenty atolls/islands will receive food from
the shipment. More than 22,
000 residents have been identified to receive the emergency food.
(FEMA) >>>more
Emergency Food Shipments Continued 9 Months
February 5, 1999 -- In a combined effort to ease human suffering from last year's severe drought,
USDA and FEMA have
provided monthly food shipments. Native vegetation and food crops are recovering, and the crisis
is over."The extended
drought had destroyed crops in the RMI, drastically affecting people who were solely dependent
upon subsistence farming,"
said William Carwile.
(FEMA) >>>more
Analyzing the Impact
Water Woes American President Bill Clinton earlier this year declared a
major disaster for the Republic of the Marshall Islands following a failure
of rains. The Majuro reservoir went dry, and water had to be brought in from
other parts of the Pacific. This year’s drought in the region has underscored
the importance of adequate and dependable water resources. SOPAC’s Water
Resource Unit is involved in a wide range of activities aimed at helping to
alleviate these problems.
(SOPAC) >>>more
The Impacts of Climate Change on Pacific Island Countries
There are now discernible global effects from human-produced greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions. In the
Pacific region climate change and sea-level rise, coupled with natural variability have severely
impacted the economic,
environmental and socio-cultural sectors of Pacific people and countries. The records also
indicate that since 1977,
rainfall increased in the north-east and decreased in the south-west of the Pacific. Interannual
variations in temperature
and rainfall were found to be associated with El Niño events, resulting in water shortages and
drought in Papua New Guinea,
Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Fiji. This research also noted that since 1977 the South Pacific
Convergence Zone (SPCZ)
had shifted abruptly 150km eastwards.
(SPREP) >>>more
Coral reef exposes worst El Ninos ever
"Over the last 100 years we have very accurate records of
El Nino, with 1982-83 and 1997-98 being the largest events on record."
Centuries ago El Nino occurred every two to 15 years, but recent research
shows the pattern has become more frequent. It is blamed for causing much of
the $89 billion in weather-related damage in 1998."Of course, everyone wants
to know if the intensity of these large events is somehow related to global
warming. Our data suggest that the behavior of the tropical Pacific over the
last 100 years is atypical, but it does not pinpoint which factors modulate
El Nino.
(Planet Ark) >>>more
For Marshall Islands updates and climate-oriented information see
"Related Links."
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