Fiji strengthens landslide monitoring with pilot station

Fiji has opened a pilot landslide monitoring station at Mission Hill in Dilkusha, creating a practical test site for tracking one of the country’s natural hazards.

The station followed a week-long technical training program for officers from the Mineral Resources Department’s Geological Survey Division. The U.S. Geological Survey Landslide Disaster Assistance Team facilitated the training.

Participants studied landslide modelling, geological and geospatial data collection, monitoring methods, and the installation and maintenance of specialized equipment. The Mission Hill site will give MRD officers hands-on experience while demonstrating how similar monitoring initiatives could operate elsewhere in Fiji.

Regional specialists from Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Pacific Community, the Pacific Island Countries and Territories Landslide Working Group, and the Fiji Meteorological Service also took part. The initiative focuses on hazards associated with heavy rainfall, steep terrain, land-use changes and extreme weather, with the stated aim of helping protect communities and critical infrastructure.