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STATE OF EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED
Thousands of people have been left homeless and dozens are still missing after a devastating storm in the Solomon Islands.
The death toll from the flooding currently stands at 17 people as heavy rain caused the Mataniko River to burst its banks, washing away houses, according to The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. However, the death toll is expected to rise with dozens of people, including children, still missing.
Donald Burgess, Water, Sanitation and Health Specialist for UNICEF in the Solomon Islands says they are expecting more people to seek shelter one of the 14 official evacuation centres currently set up as rains subside.
UN officials estimate 5,000 people are already in evacuation centres, several of which are local schools, after whole neighbourhoods were submerged in the hard-hit capital of Honiara.
“The biggest challenge for UNICEF in the coming days will be ensuring that systems are set up at these centres so that the people there have access to safe water and sanitation,” Mr Burgess says.
“Some of the schools being used as evacuation centres currently only have 4 or 5 toilets and are not built to withstand a sudden influx of people such as this.”
A state of emergency has been declared and 17 New Zealand police officers, already in Honiara, are now helping Solomon Islands police with the aftermath.
MFAT says the storm has damaged houses, roads and bridges. Powerlines are down and the airport is currently closed, with authorities working to reopen it. An estimated 1,000 people are sheltering in the terminal.
Swollen rivers and debris is cutting off access to many villages so it has been difficult for relief agencies to know just how many people are affected.
A helicopter flyover revealed the capital’s infrastructure has been extremely badly damaged. Sewerage pipes have been broken and there’s no water access.
Relief agencies are now concerned disease may spread as water level recede.
“The government has gone into some of the evacuation centres today to do a sanitation and water assessment, to see what some of the needs of the people are there and I guess in terms of health that will be an issue as well,” says Oxfam’s Katie Greenwood.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says 147 New Zealanders are registered as being in the Solomon Islands. New Zealand has already announced it will provide $300,000 in aid.
A tropical storm alert is still in place for the Western, Malaita, Makira, Central and Guadalcanal provinces. The weather system is slowly moving and intensifying bringing with it yet more heavy rain and coastal flooding.
Earthquake Strikes
Meanwhile a strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake has also struck the Solomon Islands, the US Geological Survey said.
The tremor was at a depth of 63 kilometres and centred 30km west of the city of Kirakira.
The US Geological Survey issued a “green alert”, indicating there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
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