Vulnerable atoll nation plans seawall to block rising waters

The Economic Times of India: The low-lying Marshall Islands , a Pacific atoll chain that rises barely a metre above sea level, has announced plans for a wall to hold back rising sea levels. "We want to prevent erosion and stop flooding," UN ambassador Phillip Muller said at the weekend, launching an appeal for USD 20 million in international donor funds to get the project under way.

The full cost of the protective sea wall has not been released and Muller said the initial plea for donor funds is for detailed engineering work on the project. The vulnerability of the Marshalls was highlighted two years ago when floods hit the eastern shore of the main Majuro Atoll causing several million dollars in damage and forcing dozens of islanders to live in temporary shelters.

The Honolulu-based National Weather Service , a US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-supported agency, recently warned of possibly more severe flooding in the next two months. "The sea level should be similar or higher than those seen during 2008, when waves flooded parts of Majuro and other atolls in the country," the report said….

Laura Beach, the Marshall Islands, shot by Stefan Lins , Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.