Up to 60,000 people may have been affected by a quake-related tsunami which swept across most of the Solomon Islands.
The quake, measuring 8.0, triggered a tsunami large enough to destroy homes, schools and churches. The official death toll is 13, though this is expected to rise with families in many villages searching desperately for missing relatives.
One of the most impacted areas is the town of Gizo in the west of the Solomons, which has around a thousand residents and was only 45km (25 miles) from the epicentre of the quake.
World Vision staff are reporting that in Gizo the local hospital has been inundated with water, hampering the efforts to aid the injured.
While the overall damage is still difficult to determine due to inaccessibility and poor communications, the government estimates its cost at millions of dollars. The water rose to 3 meters in some places and has left many homeless and without access to clean water or their usual livelihoods.
World Vision, one of the largest NGOs in the Solomon Islands, will be responding with emergency aid to the survivors of this disaster.
According to interim National Director for World Vision's Pacific programs, Paul Martell, many homes on hillsides have also been displaced by landslides caused by the quake.
World Vision's initial plan is to address the immediate need for emergency shelter and food across the Solomon Islands. Assessments will also be undertaken to restore water and sanitation facilities, a sector where World Vision was already working in the Solomon Islands.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially issued a warning for all countries in the South Pacific region and authorities in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, north-eastern Australia, Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Fiji. This warning has since been lifted but countries are advised to stay on alert.
World Vision's work in the Solomon Islands
