SOME people have to stand all night till dawn as water rises to their hip when the flood swept through thousands of homes fortnight ago.
In the Guadalcanal plains, Fox Wood and Tenaru areas east of Honiara the flood happen around 8pm.
Most people do not expect this would happen on that night as many were still in their houses due to the heavy rain.
Houses, properties and food gardens were all sunk under water when the flood came.
People from the plains had to be evacuated to Fox Wood kindy school, hall, and a residential house.
“The tragic flooding came so unexpected on that evening,” Bishop Nathan Tome of the Anglican diocese of Guadalcanal recalled.
Bishop Tome looks after the good Sheppard church at Fox Wood.
He said the flood happen so fast and lately people from the plains and a nearby community had to be evacuated to Fox Wood’s kindy school, hall and a residential house.
They were sheltered inside the buildings but Bishop Tome said the water keeps rising.
“So we have to move some inside the Good Sheppard church of Anglican while others are still sheltered in the other buildings,” he said.
“The buildings were all packed with people.”
Bishop Tome recalled on that night that many have called for help as the water rises to their hip.
He said the flood happens around 8pm in the night and the water rises so fast.
“We were still praying in the church when people start arriving in numbers to take shelter from the flood around 7pm,” he said.
Back at the church, the water has getting higher that focused the people to stand all night until morning.
The bishop said no one could sleep people had to stand all night till morning.
“This includes women, children and men.”
On Friday morning they were evacuated to town and sheltered at the evacuation centres.
Bishop Tome highlighted that though the flood came no one was killed but the saddest thing is that many people have lost their homes, food gardens and roads were badly damaged.
About 40,000 people of Guadalcanal were affected by the recent flood according to NDMO.
By TRIXIE CARTER
