Mosese Raqio 
File
Fiji is stepping up efforts to give flood-prone communities in Suva and Lami more time to prepare, with experts mapping flash-flood hotspots and setting rainfall triggers for earlier warnings.
A two-day Weather Ready Nation Workshop is bringing together local authorities and technical experts to identify vulnerable areas across the Suva-Lami Bay corridor.
Weather Ready Nation Coordinator Dr Rochelle Campbell says the focus is on turning local knowledge and rainfall data into information communities can act on.
She says rainfall thresholds such as 100 millimetres in six hours could help identify areas likely to be impacted and allow the Fiji Meteorological Service to issue warnings with longer lead times.
Fiji Meteorological Service Scientific Climate Officer Shweta Shiwangni says the workshop is specifically targeting urban flooding in Suva and Lami.
Shiwangni says municipal councils and the Fiji Roads Authority are helping validate flood hotspots, with the information to be integrated into forecasting systems.
She adds that the goal is to move towards more localised, impact-based forecasts that tell communities not just how much rain is coming, but where the impacts are likely to be felt.
