Brussels, 22/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - The EU is mobilising €240,000 in humanitarian aid to help the most vulnerable populations hit by flooding and earthquakes in the Solomon Islands (Pacific), the European Commission announced on 16 April. European environment experts have been deployed to the islands, via the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism, as part of a joint EU/UN mission (UNEP and OCHA) to assess the risks related to the heavy rain which has battered the archipelago since the beginning of April.
This aid, which will be channelled through World Vision, the Commission's humanitarian partner organisation on the ground, will pay for sanitation installations and hygiene kits.
The heavy rains and the consequent flooding which have devastated the Solomon Islands have already left at least 23 people dead and 9,000 displaced in Honiara, the capital, and in certain areas of Guadalcanal (province of the Solomon Islands), affecting 52,000 people in total. Extensive material damage has been caused, such as the destruction of roads and bridges.
The Solomon Islands are one of the ACP (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific) countries linked to the EU by the Cotonou Agreement. This small island state is one of the regions of the world most exposed to natural disasters (cyclones, earthquakes, flooding, landslides, drought, forest fires and volcanic eruptions) and epidemic diseases. For 2013-2014, the Commission's disaster preparedness programme (DIPECHO) has an envelope of €3 million for the Solomon Islands. (AN)