The nation of Cuba is now playing a lead role in educating small islands on how to deal with extreme weather events.

Cuba’s National Forecast Center says it will be sharing information with the Pacific region on how it has reduced the crippling impacts of severe weather events.

Its director, Jose Rubiera, will be attending next month’s Small Islands Developing States conference in Samoa, as part of the ‘Small Islands, Weather Together Campaign’.

Dr Rubiera says Cuba has dramatically changed the way it responds to cyclones since Hurricane Flora killed more than 1,200 people in 1963.

He says he hopes to convince Pacific leaders that investing money in meteorological equipment will pay off in the long-term