FIJIAN families will now be able to access insurance payouts in the event of a severe cyclone, says Prime Miniter Voreqe Bainimarama.
He said this was made possible after Fiji signed a landmark agreement with the International Finance Corporation.
“And Fiji is the leading voice on the world stage in advocating for greater finance and financing mechanisms to fund the life-saving work of climate adaptation,” he said, during the launch of the national disaster risk reduction policy in Suva yesterday.
“All of this work is dedicated to a singular purpose – saving lives and saving us the costs of rebuilding, year after year, cyclone season after cyclone season.”
He said the policy would cover Fiji’s preparedness before storms, to immediate emergency responses, to the nationwide effort to rebuild to cyclone-resilient standards.
“But that job is too big for Government alone.
“Every person, every business, and every organisation must play a role in preparing for worsening disasters.
“Importantly, this policy covers how we build public awareness of how to plan for emergencies and what to do when disaster strikes.
“This policy is one part of a wide-reaching national agenda to dramatically improve our resilience to climate impacts of all scales.
“We’re building seawalls, evacuation centres and early warning systems, relocating communities, planting mangroves and boosting our agro-resilience.”
The PM also appealed to all Fijians to be prepared because the country was in the cyclone season. “Please, treat storm warnings with total sincerity.
“Listen to authorities and undertake all preparatory works possible ahead of a storm’s arrival.
“Lives depend on your actions.”
Mr Bainimarama said the launch of the policy showed Fiji’s resilience and its willingness to act in the face of great adversity.
Meanwhile, Japan’s ambassador to Fiji Masahiro Omura said Japan was ready to support Fiji to implement the national disaster risk reduction policy through various schemes such as a stand-by loan for disaster recovery and rehabilitation.
Mr Omura said Japan was looking forward to formalising stand-by loans to Fiji which would facilitate $100 million to the Ministry of Economy.
“This funding can be quickly disbursed in the aftermath of a disaster to recover the damage,” he said.
Source - thefijinews
