UK support for the Solomon Islands following flash flooding
8 Apr 2014 03:47 PM
Aid to provide at least 3,500 people with
temporary shelters, blankets, clean water, kitchen sets and hygiene kits to
help stave off disease.
The
UK government has announced it will help thousands of people whose homes and
livelihoods have been washed away by floods in the Solomon
Islands.
Flash floods last week have affected over 50,000 people
living on the Pacific island chain and left 10,000 people in evacuation
centres. Thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed in the capital
Honaira and Guadalcanal province and at least 23 people have
died.
The
new UK humanitarian funding of £300,000 will help British charity World
Vision UK to provide at least 3,500 of the most vulnerable Solomon Islanders
with temporary shelters, blankets, clean water, kitchen sets and hygiene kits
to help stave off disease.
International Development Minister Alan Duncan
said:
Over the past few days thousands of people across the
Solomon Islands have seen their homes and their livelihoods washed away, with
many losing loved ones to the floods. This urgent British support will help
those who have lost everything, providing emergency shelter, giving them clean
water to drink and helping to stop the spread of disease.
UK
support will also help the Solomon Islands Government deliver the ongoing
relief effort and develop plans for medium-term recovery.
More information about
the UK and the Solomon Islands