Solomon Islands

8 APRIL

Save the Children New Zealand deployed Peter Jackson to the Solomon Islands. He writes from Honiara:

Some of the biggest flash floods in memory have affected almost 40,000 people, and forced over 10,000 people out of their homes.

Hospitals have been evacuated, access points cut-off, fresh water contaminated, and entire families separated. Whole suburbs have been drowned in water. People have reported seeing the bodies of dead children floating through floodwaters. At night, helicopters circle Honiara city, throwing out powerful beams of light, searching for missing ships and missing bodies. As we’re caught in traffic approaching a damaged bridge, my driver Manu points to a building across the road, “You see that building. There’s been a bad smell coming out of there. We pulled three bodies out last night.’

Children are the most vulnerable during emergencies.
“We remain very concerned about the risk of water-borne disease, including dengue” said Save the Children Solomon Islands’ Acting Country Director Dr Rudaba Khondker.

Save the Children is working amazingly hard to get practical help to the people who need it most. We’re focussing on keeping children safe, which is often overlooked when you’re in the thick of a natural disaster such as this. And we’re preparing to help with the recovery effort, which we’ll continue with, long after the flood waters recede.

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