Pacific Island communities take action to protect homes ahead of cyclone season

Media release, 16 September 2026 - As Pacific nations prepare for another cyclone season, families across Fiji, Samoa and Tonga are taking practical steps to protect their homes and livelihoods from severe weather.

Through Habitat for Humanity’s community-led resilience programmes, communities are strengthening housing, improving access to safe water, developing local plans to reduce the impact of future disasters and building long-term resilience.

Habitat works alongside communities in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to strengthen their preparedness for severe weather.

“Through our work, we help communities be as prepared as possible before the next disaster strikes,” says Alan Thorp, Group Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity New Zealand.

“We take a community-led approach: community members identify their shelter risks and create an action plan to address them. Over the past five years, we’ve worked with 49 communities across Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, supporting them to take ownership of improvements to their living conditions, both now and over the long term.

“Home is where everything begins,” says Mr Thorp.

“Through our programming, communities identify further opportunities to build the skills and knowledge needed to improve their shelter. Sometimes the solution is as simple as recognising the need for a new footpath with solar lighting, so community members can travel safely to and from their village.”

“Alternatively, communities may seek further training in construction or plumbing, enabling participants to strengthen their own homes and those of others against the next severe weather event.”

For example, in the past five years:

• 42 communities have undertaken Build Back Safer training, where 848 participants learnt basic construction and home repair techniques focused on making a dwelling more able to withstand the next severe weather event
• 24 plumbing training sessions were delivered for women in communities across Samoa and Fiji, building participants’ skills in tasks such as identifying and repairing leaking pipes.
• 49 communities have been actively involved in safe shelter training where they identify risks and form a plan to mitigate these

“By strengthening local knowledge and practical skills, we support Pacific families to create safer homes and become more self-reliant over the long term. A decent, climate-resilient place to live can improve people’s health, well-being and overall quality of life,” says Mr Thorp.

“When families have adequate shelter, they are less exposed to the risks posed by extreme weather and natural disasters, and are better equipped to adapt to the effects of climate change.”

Habitat has worked in the Pacific for more than 20 years, with a focus on shelter and housing. The key Pacific programmes Habitat delivers are PASSA (Participatory Approach to Safe Shelter Awareness), BBS (Build Back Safer), WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and Vocational Training. The delivery of these programmes is primarily funded by the Ministry of Foreign and Trade and supplemented by public donations.