Climate change has contributed to sea-level rise in American Samoa, where levels are rising at a rate 2.8 times faster than the global average. These effects are further exacerbated by the active sinking of the islands – a fate common to young volcanic islands. To better understand these effects, the Pacific Islands CASC and partners supported the creation of the American Samoa Sea Level Rise Viewer, a new interactive tool on the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) platform that allows the American Samoa community to visualize how coastal flooding, sea-level rise, storm surges, and high tides will impact regions to individual buildings. 

The tool is useful for future planning as it can assess short and long-term effects on communities, environments, and infrastructure. It is already being used in resilience planning, informing the new design of the Pago Pago International Airport. 

This tool was supported by the Pacific Islands CASC Project, “Sea-Level Rise Viewer for American Samoa: A Co-Developed Visualization and Planning Tool.”