Flooded street in French Polynesia’s Fare Ute on 12 February 2024. Photo: Polynésie la 1ère
Torrential rains cause damage again on Tahiti, neighbouring Islands
Torrential rains and strong winds have once again triggered flooding and extensive damage on French Polynesia's main island of Tahiti, just a few days after the passage of tropical cyclone Nat.
Subsequent swollen rivers bursting their banks earlier this week have washed away vehicles and in some cases houses, also causing landslides, civil security services have reported, adding they had to carry out "about one hundred "rescue missions", the French High Commission in Papeete stated.
French Polynesia's government has invoked a state of natural disaster and the French army has been called to assist in clearing fallen trees and other debris from the roads.
The same adverse weather conditions have prevailed this week in large parts of the Society Islands (including Tahiti, Mooera, where most of the population lives).
After several days of forced closure, schools were gradually coming back to normal at the end of this week.
In December last year, a previous spate of flooding caused by another episode of torrential rains also caused significant damage to houses and infrastructure on the main island of Tahiti.
Elodie Vitalis is the first representative for AFD (Agence Française de Développement) group based in the Fiji capital Suva. Photo: AFD
French development bank's first Suva-based office
The first representative for French Development Agency AFD (Agence Française de Développement) group, Elodie Vitalis, has taken up her position in the Fiji capital Suva earlier this month.
She has been tasked to work with authorities in Fiji and the regional organisations it hosts.
With a ten-year experience within the AFD group, and previous postings at the World Bank, she has been specialising in sustainable finance and will work in coordination with AFD's Pacific office, located in Nouméa (New Caledonia).
During a recent visit to the Pacific region, in July 2023, French President Macron had pledged to expand AFD's footprint in the wider Pacific region to assist and take part in environmental development projects focusing on climate change impact issues.
New Caledonia’s Rose Wete joins Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji. Photo: French Embassy in Vanuatu
New Caledonia's diplomat joins Pacific Islands Forum in Suva
One of the first diplomats for New Caledonia's burgeoning diplomatic corps, Rose Wete, has left her Port Vila posting to join the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, Fiji.
She was farewelled earlier this week at a party hosted by the French Embassy in Port Vila, where she was representing New Caledonia's nascent diplomatic "External Relations" services.
French Ambassador to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer, in his farewell speech, stressed Wete's "exceptional interpersonal skills" and the "immense network" she has built "throughout the Pacific islands" over the years.
Wete's farewell ceremony was also attended by Vanuatu Prime minister Charlot Salwai, his climate change minister Ralph Regenvanu, as well as Australian and New Zealand diplomats and members of the French community.
Wete had been posted at the French embassy in Port Vila since early 2023.
Another New Caledonian delegate, Gaston Wadrawane, has taken a similar position in the French embassy in Suva (Fiji).
Under a pact of "shared competencies" part of France's gradual transfer of powers to New Caledonia, French embassies in the Pacific region (including Vanuatu and Fiji) have been hosting, sharing information and working together with representatives of the French Pacific entity.
Poé beach in Bourail was also part of the surveillance experiment. Photo: Sud-tourisme.nc
Nouméa's sharks monitored by ultra-light aircraft
Two small boats but also one ULM (Ultra Light Motorized) delta-wing flying device and one jet-ski have been recently hired to monitor the possible presence of sharks near Nouméa's most popular beaches, where an Australian tourist was fatally mauled one year ago.
The unexpected monitoring exercise was recently trialled during New Caledonia's two-month school holidays over Christmas and New Year.
As part of a "surveillance plan", the experience was also extended to the small town of Bourail (West coast of the main island).
New Caledonia's Southern province said the operation started on 24 February (daily from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, including weekends) and is about to end when students go back to school.
At Nouméa’s Amicale vietnamienne (Vietnamese association), where over 400 persons had booked for a banquet with Vietnamese traditional dancers, the official name for the lunar New Year is “Têt". Photo: NC la 1
New Caledonia's Asian community celebrates Year of the Dragon - Vietnamese style
New Caledonia's Year of the Dragon celebrations have this year again taken many shapes, a reflection of the diversity of Asian origins, including the influential Vietnamese community.
Several events took place at the weekend, some organised by the Vietnamese association, others by the Chinese association.
At the Amicale vietnamienne (Vietnamese association), where over 400 persons had booked for a banquet with Vietnamese traditional dancers, the official name for the lunar New Year is "Têt".
Another significant community of Asian ascent in New Caledonia originally came from Java Island (Indonesia).
