The document summarizes early warning systems for inundation events in the Marshall Islands. It provides background on the Marshall Islands geography and history of inundation events. Recent events in 2013-2015 are described along with their impacts. Monitoring tools like ocean models are discussed for providing warnings. Challenges include coordination between weather and disaster offices, while responses have included more research and awareness of high tide risks.

1. Early Warning of Inundation in
the Marshall Islands
Blue Planet Symposium in Cairns, Australia
May 27rd-29th, 2015
Nover Juria
Climate Program Specialist
RMI Weather Service Office
NOAA’s National Weather Service

2. NOAA’s National Weather Service
• Background information for the Marshall Islands
• History of the inundation events
• Causes and Impacts from the inundations
• Other influences including sea level rise
• Inundation monitoring tools
• The COSPPac ocean portal & The AUSWAVE
global model
• Communicating the information to the community
• Challenges
• Responses to the inundations
Outline:

3. NOAA’s National Weather Service
• Marshall Islands is located near
the equator in the central North
Pacific Ocean between 4-14 deg.
(N) and 160-173 deg. (E).
• It consists of 29 low lying atolls
and 5 low elevated islands with
a total land area of 70 square
miles (181 km).
• It has an elevation less than two
meters above sea level.
• The capital is in Majuro on the
Ratak Island.
History of the Marshall Islands

4. NOAA’s National Weather Service
Inundation events in the RMI
Years Events Areas (Affected)
1979 Sea Swell Majuro
1988 Tropical Storm (Roy) Kwajalein
1991 Tropical Storm (Zelda) All of RMI
1992 Tropical Storm (Axel) All of RMi
1994 High Surf/Wave Action Majuro
1997 Typhoon (Paka) Majuro, Ailinglaplap, and
Namu
2008 Sea Swell/King Tide Majuro, Arno, and Kili
2013 Sea Swell/Spring Tide Majuro, Arno, and Kili
2014 Sea Swell/Wave Action Majuro, Arno, and Kili
2015 Sea Swell/Wave Action Ebeye, Kwajalein
.

5. NOAA’s National Weather Service
• 2013 – Majuro
• 2014 – Majuro
• 2015 – Ebeye
• The combination of the easterly
winds with high energy swells from
the north during the high tide
events in the Marshall Islands.
Main causes of the recent
inundation events
3rd March 2014
Easterly wind and wave direction toward the RMI
Large swell waves NE of the RMISpring high tide in the RMI during March 2014 event.

6. Ebeye wave event - causes
Timing of the high tide
at Ebeye, Kwajalein
Wind Waves generated by
Tropical Storm Dolphin
+

7. NOAA’s National Weather Service
• Many parts of the road were flooded under
one to two feet of salt water.
• All affected areas are littered with debris.
• Many homes suffered water damage.
• Airport runway was flooded and covered
with debris.
Impacts from the Majuro
inundation in June 2013

8. NOAA’s National Weather Service
• The flooding incident knocked down portions of
the international airport protective seawall,
flooding the runway and closing the airport for
a day.
• Caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in
damage and left hundreds homeless for short
periods of time, forcing the government to
intervene with emergency aid.
Impacts from the Majuro
inundation in March 2014

9. Ebeye wave event - impacts

10. Other influences on inundation
events
Sea Level Rise
La Nina Phases
Spring Tide Neap Tide
Spring Tides
Source: Climate Variability, Extremes and Change in the Western
Tropical Pacific: New Science and Updated Country Reports 2014

11. NOAA’s National Weather Service
• Pacific Islands Ocean
Observing System
(PacIOOS)
• Australian Bureau of
Meteorology Tide
Predictions
• NOAA Wave Watch III
Inundation monitoring tools:

12. NOAA’s National Weather Service
• COSPPac Real Time Data
Display versus Kwajalein
Real Time Data Display
• AUSWAVE Global Model
• COSPPac Ocean Portal
Inundation monitoring tools:

13. NOAA’s National Weather Service
 We should follow
the Standard
Operating
Procedures (SOPs)
 Weather Forecast
Office in Guam and
WSO Majuro issue
the watches,
warning, and
advisories
 Weather Service
Office disseminates
to Disaster Office
 Disaster Committee
takes final actions to
evacuate people or
not
Communicating the Information to
the Community

14. NOAA’s National Weather Service
• Better coordination between the Weather Services
and Disaster Office regarding the dissemination of
warnings
• More public awareness about which services are
responsible for providing warning information
Challenges

15. NOAA’s National Weather Service
• The RMI government
started to take more
actions to adapt and
mitigate
• More coastal research
now being undertaken
• More awareness on spring
tide events
Responses to the inundation events
RMI stakeholders including the members of the parliament

16. Thank You
nover.juria@noaa.gov
reginald.white@noaa.gov