REPORTS from an assessment conducted at various flood stricken villages in the Guadalcanal plains revealed that the lack of transportation access and communication are preventing flood victims there from receiving relief aid and evacuation.
The assessment team, which flew into Guadalcanal over the weekend by chopper, said that with roads being blocked off by debris and also floods, it remains difficult to transport relief aid to the people or help evacuate them.
Sources revealed to this paper that most villages within the Guadalcanal plains and further north of the province have had difficulty contacting the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) for relief aid as the bemobile network service was still down, following last week’s devastating flash floods that has so far killed 23 people and left more than 9000 homeless.
“Most of the villages in the plains, along the rivers in North East Guadalcanal, including the renowned Ruavatu Provincial Secondary School were just some of the heavily stricken areas during the floods.
“People are finding it very difficult even to contract their families in town to help them evacuate because the Bemobile network is also out of service.
“This is a major concern that responsible authorities should look into immediately,” the source said.
He also revealed that the lack of clean drinking water is also a major problem faced by victims in the Guadalcanal plains.
Meanwhile, the Solomon Star understands that various companies operating both in Honiara and on the Guadalcanal plains have over the past few days helped with the evacuation of people from flood stricken areas there.
By JEREMY INIFIRI
