Are simultaneous floods, drought an omen in the Pacific?

Terrell Johnson in Wunderground: For the tens of thousands of people who live in the Marshall Islands, a string of more than 1,000 low-lying islands and coral atolls in the North Pacific Ocean, last week's storms brought yet another reminder that the impacts of climate change aren't something that awaits in a far-off, distant future.

They're happening now.

Extremely high tides, combined with storm surge of 6 to 8 feet, lashed the coastline of the southern Marshall Islands around its capital Majuro on June 25, inundating the southern end of the atoll in up to 2 feet of water in many areas. Storm surge broke through the seawall that protects the Majuro airport, flooding the runway and forcing a United Airlines flight to fly over until the runway could be cleared of debris. Many coastal roads were flooded and many homes sustained enough water damage to force evacuations until the water subsided.

At the same time, many of the northern Marshall Islands are in the middle of their worst drought in recent memory. Failing crops and dwindling water supplies have made the situation so dire for the roughly 6,000 people on these islands -- many have been living on about a quart of water a day -- that fresh water and food are being carried in by boat.

"The elders tell us that there have been droughts like this before, but I don't think anybody has ever seen it where it's so wet," said Tony de Brum, minister for climate change to the Marshall Islands president, in an interview with Australia Network News. He added that, at nearly 70 years old, he doesn't remember a season like this one in his lifetime....

NASA image of the Rongelap atoll in the Marshall Islands

Aid agency sounds alarm over Pacific islands' drought

Space Daily: Aid agency the International Organization for Migration sounded the alarm Tuesday over a drought in the Marshall Islands, one of the world's remotest ocean communities, warning that thousands of people were at risk.

"Officials have found some families living on a gallon, or 3.8 litres, of water per day -- barely half of the international standard for emergency water requirements, and often the precursor to serious health conditions," IOM spokesman Jumbe Omari Jumbe told reporters.

Lying in the northern Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia, the republic formed by more than 1,000 islands has faced unusually low rainfall since February.

The crisis has led the government to declare a state of emergency in the northern atolls which are home to around 3,200 of the Marshall Islands' 52,558 people. "Food security is a major concern, as crops, plants and trees have been damaged," Jumbe said....

NASA image of Kili Island, in the Marshall Islands