Pohnpei, FSM – A ground-breaking ceremony of the Pohnpei Emergency Operation Center (EOC) was organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in support of Pohnpei State’s capacity in disaster preparedness and response on Wednesday, 14 September 2022.

The Center, worth US$1,387,625 is part of the Japan-funded project, entitled 'Enhancing Disaster and Climate Resilience in the Federated States of Micronesia through improved Disaster Preparedness and Infrastructure' (EDCR FSM) project, which aims to improve the capacity for preparedness and mitigation of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) to man-made, geo-physical and climate-related hazards and to climate change impact.

The Emergency Operation Center is part of the new fire station facility and will be utilized by the Governor’s Disaster Committee for efficient coordination of emergency responses. The construction is expected to be completed by March 2023.

In Pohnpei, the Governor’s Disaster Committee comprises of department directors, and serves as an advisory body to the Governor in the formulation of policies and coordination of the disaster response efforts. In addition, the Director of Public Safety is responsible for supporting preparedness and response efforts, acting as the controller of EOC.

This construction of the new Center is timely and critical as the Pohnpei State is currently lacking a dedicated facility to host these functions to serve a critical place for key staff from the relevant departments, offices, and agencies to effectively work together, share information and decision-making, and assist in making the most effective use of resources.

During his speech, Honorable Reed B. Oliver, Governor of Pohnpei State of the Federated States of Micronesia said, “Once the construction is completed, operation of EOC would be effective and efficient as all the people who are engaged in disaster response are able to gather one location”.

His Excellency Mr. Michigami Hisashi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to FSM said, “The Pohnpei State EOC, which will begin construction at this location today, is a very important facility and is expected to become the center of disaster preparedness for the State of Pohnpei.”

In his remarks during the ground-breaking ceremony, Kevin Petrini, Deputy Resident Representative and Country Manager for the UNDP Pacific Office in the Federated States of Micronesia, expressed his appreciation to the Government of Japan for their generous support, which enables UNDP to work with the Government of FSM on the enhancement of the country’s resilience to the impact of disasters and climate change, COVID-19 response and recovery and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Although the building has a quite limited space focused on the core function of EOC, the project considers and continue discussion on the use of the facility considering gender and people with disabilities,” Mr. Petrini added. 

The UNDP EDCR project, since its commencement in 2019, has provided equipment strategic to Palau’s disaster risk management. The project aims to strengthen gender sensitive disaster communication and climate monitoring systems; enhance gender sensitive national and state disaster responder’s readiness capacity; and enhance community disaster resilience through improved water resource management and integrated gender and social inclusion awareness.

For more information, please contact:

Takiko Ifamilik, Finance and Administrative Officer, Enhancing Disaster and Climate Resilience in the Federated States of Micronesia Project, UNDP North Pacific Office in FSM, Tel: +(691) 320 4456, Email: takiko.ifamilik@undp.org