By Martha Taumata Faavae
Damage risks from the wet cyclone season enforced in Samoa since the start of November, is once again a time of worry in many of the families living in low lying areas vulnerable to flooding.
Urban residential villages on the western side of Apia from Fugalei, Taufusi, Saleufi, Vaimoso out to Sinamoga, Moamoa, Vailoa, Lepea and others are flood prone.
Leone, Lelata, Fa’atoia, Matautu, Vaisigano and beyond are the more vulnerable ones on the eastern side of town.
Ms. Solosolo Fouina of Sinamoga and her family are already bracing against the heavy rains swelling up the nearby river beyond its banks and overflowing into their home.
Fouina conceded that regardless of how they tried to keep the water back it will still finds its way through to their home.
“ My family has learned to put up with the problems when the river floods; every year when the wet season ends we follow it up with a massive clean up of our house and around the property,” Fouina said in an interview with Newsline Samoa.
“ Our family at this time keeps a close ear on the daily weather reports so we can respond according to what the day brings.
“We have a separate kitchen house at the back but in times of heavy rains we store everything in our main building to save us having to slosh in the pooling water and falling rain.”
The family matriarch is hopeful Government will have land made available to families like hers to relocate away from the flood risk locations they live.
Fouvale Seumanu, a father who lives further up at Moamoa, is facing a similar situation.
His family lives close to banks of the same river that flows from the mountains through Moamoa and out to Sinamoga, Vaimoso and Fugalei.
Seumanu and his family find this period a very difficult one for them having to keep watch during heavy downpours for the river flooding.
“Sleep is difficult for us when the river floods because it flows close to our home,” he worried.
While he does welcome the protection of large flood prevention cement blocks set up along the river banks to protect against the rising river it will still not keep the water from overflowing.
“It is hard to keep calm at times like this because it is not easy to sit still when you’re in the middle of heavy rains that makes you wish to speed up the days to the end of this bad season.”
The Government national emergency body, NEOC, is on extra alert as well with attempts like the clearing of waterways in many of the vulnerable areas to minimise flooding risks.
The regional forecast has predicted at least one possible cyclone that is likely to affect Samoa this season.
The major weather watch out however is for heavy rainfall and the risks of flooding mainly in low-lying residential areas in heavily populated locations around urban Apia.