Sea level rise effects for Haapai and Vavau

Hi everybody,

can anybody tell me about the effects of a potential sea level rise on the Haapai and Vavau island groups? Would a sea level rise be a serious threat (like it is for Tuvalu, Kiribati etc.)?

Cheers,
Klaus

The main impact of sea level rise that is evident now is coastal erosion. I believe that the highest point on Lifuka island, the main island of the Ha'apai group, is only five or six meters above sea level. Obviously, even small changes in sea level will have major impacts due to the low lying nature of the islands. The islands themselves sank slightly a few years back when there was a major eartquake in the region. You can really see the land being reclaimed by the sea, once gently sloping beaches are now quite steep drops of three feet. Many people have been forced to move back away from the sea front and there are local efforts involving sand bags to try and reduce the erosion but this is on a very small scale. The compounded effects of the sea level rise, island drop and vulnerability to storm surge and Tsunamis in the area mean that Ha'apai may not be such a good place to live close to the waters edge. Cyclones affect the area also and the damage from cyclonic swells is much worse when the sea level is higher. Sea level rise in my opinion does pose a serious threat to the Ha'apai group of islands and left unchecked the islands will gradually get smaller before becoming possibly end up totally submerged.

Hi,

I created two maps at www.altitude.nu</a> where you can see the elevation of the islands.

Haapai map
Vavau map