4 Jul 2013

Tokelau Met Service aided by NZ

7:14 pm on 4 July 2013

A plea from Tokelau for weather stations on its three islands has been answered, with New Zealand offering to help out.

PACNEWS reports that the head of Tokelau's environment services, Kelemeni Tavuto, was overwhelmed with the positive responses from donors at this week's Pacific Meteorological Council meeting in Nadi.

He says he is grateful for New Zealand meeting one of the urgent needs of the atolls' Met Service.

He says being at the regional meeting has solved some of the immediate needs of Tokelau's Met Service, which comes under Environment Services.

Mr Tavuto also says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States has offered four chatty beetles to help with the dissemination of information.

The chatty beetle is a text-based alert and message device used in remote locations to give warnings about hazards like tsunamis, heavy surf or cyclones.