Flash Floods Solomon Islands 6-14

13 Jun 2014







Highlights
•1,350 people remain in four evacuation centres.
•The Government continues to support the return of displaced people to their home islands or villages with an assistance package.
•World Vision and Red Cross distributed 193,000 litres of water to 11,800 people.
•Over 2,000 livelihood kits were distributed by Oxfam and World Vision.
•The Ministry of Health issued a nationwide diarrhoea outbreak alert, mainly from rotavirus, which has caused the death of 18 children.
•Traffic congestion is expected to ease in Honiara following the completion of a bailey bridge, replacing the Old Mataniko Bridge and donated by New Zealand.
•Australia has announced an additional US$1.88 million for key infrastructure repairs.

Situation Overview

Ten weeks after flash floods struck in early April, there are four evacuation centres (ECs) still open in Honiara, with a total of 1,350 internally displaced persons (IDPs) or 380 families. Over 1,000 people are sheltering at the Festival of Pacific Arts (FOPA) village and the rest are divided between Rove Police Club, Holy Cross Church Hall and the Disability Centre.

The Government wants remaining IDPs to return to their home islands with an assistance package and to await the outcome of the resettlement process, which may take up to 18 months. On 12 June, four teams, made up of representatives from the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey (MLHS), Police, NGOs and church groups, visited each EC to answer questions and understand IDP concerns. Both the Government and IDPs were reportedly satisfied with the outcome, with many IDPs agreeing to return.

The Government is continuing food distributions, and food is being supplied to vulnerable people in ECs through UNDP and the OCHA emergency cash grant. Over 2,000 livelihood kits were distributed to households with lost food gardens by Oxfam and World Vision Solomon Islands (WVSI). Solomon Islands Red Cross (SIRC) and WVSI distributed 193,000 litres of water to 11,800 people in Guadalcanal Province (GP) and Honiara.

Diarrhoea rates are decreasing in flood-affected GP and Honiara, however two deaths were reported at Good Samaritan Hospital due to severe dehydration. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) declared a nationwide alert on 4 June due to a diarrhoea outbreak in six of nine provinces, including Western, Choiseul, Malaita, Central, Makira, Honiara and GP. The outbreaks have been confirmed as rotavirus in four provinces, affecting over 1,000 people and causing the death of at least 18 young children.

Traffic congestion is expected to ease in Honiara following the completion of a US$1.38 million bailey bridge donated by the New Zealand Government. The bridge replaces the Old Mataniko Bridge which was washed away by floodwater.