Our people are under siege from rising seas, the longer droughts and changing weather patterns and we’ve all seen first hand the devastation brought by the stronger cyclones hitting our country year after year.

This was highlighted by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama while opening the new Labasa Meteorological Service Office.

Bainimarama says that the new facility is part of a nationwide effort to massively step-up Fiji’s resilience to the reality of climate change.

He adds that when it comes to disaster preparedness, every minute matters even an extra second of warning ahead of a storm can save a life and this is why the government did not spare any expense in delivering the $1.2 million facility, which is designed to give the largest possible window to prepare for any storms that may be headed toward Fiji.

The Prime Minister also stressed the need for every Fijian to always treat every warning issued by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Meteorological Services extremely seriously.

As President of COP23, Bainimarama says that he will be in  California later this month at the Global Climate Action Summit where he will bring the Grand Coalition which he sought to forge from day one of his Presidency to life, uniting national governments, states, regions, cities, businesses, and ordinary citizens to put the entire planet on course to stave off the worst climate impacts. 

Bainimarama also says that he is glad to be in the North ahead of the Constitution Day National Celebration in Subrail Park today.