Rapid Response Payment No. 06/2007

Funds Sent To: World Council of Churches Office in the Pacific

Amount Sent: US$ 48,140

Date: 12 April 2007

Details of Payment

Emergency: Tsunami following earthquake of 8.1 that shook the western part of the Pacific Solomon Islands

Date of Emergency: 2 April 2007

Requesting ACT Member: The World Council of Churches Office in the Pacific

Implementing Partners: Solomon Islands Christian Association (SICA), United Church in the Solomon Islands and the Church of Melanesia.

Details of the Emergency: An earthquake registering a magnitude of 8.0 shook the western part of the Pacific Solomon Islands chain on 2 April 2007. The first quake was immediately followed by two more with magnitudes of 6.7 and 6.4 at 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) and 345 kilometers (215 miles) respectively, west north-west of the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara on the island of Guadalcanal.

The earthquakes were followed by a tsunami, which destroyed 13 villages in the Solomon Island's Western Province. The waves varied in height between two and 10 meters in places, sweeping inland for almost half a kilometre, crashing into Gizo shops and homes, and destroying everything in its path as it knocked out power and communication lines. A state of emergency has been declared for the areas of the Western Province, Choiseul Province and North Isabel.

By 4 April the Solomon Islands' National Disaster Management Office had confirmed that 30 people had lost their lives, that 916 houses had been destroyed and that 5,500 people had been displaced across Western and Choiseul Provinces.

Many people were still reported as missing, while seven were injured. The scope of the damage is severe, but because of the geographical nature of the islands (remote, far apart and with no proper communication systems) assessments are still sketchy. Among the worst hit areas are the town of Gizo, the capital of the Western Province and the village of Sasamunga in the Choiseul Province. Tremors are still being felt on the island of Gizo therefore, people who fled to higher grounds are still sheltering in the hills around the island's main town, for fear of another tsunami.

Response so far: To date the Fiji Government has provided assistance of FJD 25,000 (around US$ 15,300). Australia has provided assistance estimated at AUD$3 million (around US$ 2,469,052) and New Zealand NZD 300,000 (around US$ 218,400). Assistance from New Zealand and Australia will go through the provincial offices.

The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) is currently carrying out an assessment in the damaged areas and they are also distributing blankets and clean water. The Red Cross is distributing first aid kits in Gizo town and has dispatched a boat containing tents. Some international NGOs are carrying out their own assessments and are also planning to provide some relief assistance.

Proposed Assistance:

Goal: WCC OP along with its partners plan to provide assistance to the most needy families in the worst affected areas ensuring the provision of basic needs (e.g. food, basic utensils and sleeping materials).

Assistance: Many of the families affected have exhausted any food supplies they may have had and are in desperate need for food assistance to sustain them until their crops recover. WCC OP plans to assist a total of 100 families with food parcels sufficient for one month. The food parcels will be according to the WHO minimum requirement and includes: 2 liters cooking oil, 1 carton tinned fish, 25kg rice, 25kg flour, 10 kg dhal and 4 kg of sugar. Non-food items will include tarpaulins (½ dome tents) for temporary shelter - each tarp will provide shelter for 5 - 10 families and will also be used to collect water. Household utensils (2 cooking pots, 6 mugs, 6 plates, 6 spoons, 6 knives, 1 bush knife, 2 basins and 1 digging fork) and sleeping materials comprising 2 mattresses, 2 pillows, 2 bed sheets, 2 blankets and 2 mosquito nets.

Relief supplies will be bought locally if possible. If need be and if the logistics are favorable then items that cannot be bought in the Solomon Islands will be bought in Fiji and ferried across. WCC OP/ACT will be in close consultation and communication with their counterparts in the Solomon Islands regarding sea freighting.

Beneficiaries: The beneficiaries will be identified strictly according to need and regardless of religious denomination. The most vulnerable families will be provided with the food parcels and, those families who have lost everything will be provided with temporary shelter, kitchen utensils and sleeping materials. A total of around 5,000 people will benefit from this assistance.

The target provinces/villages are:

 Gizo, Munda and Choisel: most residents are sheltering in the hills around the island's main town. Their houses and belongings were totally destroyed in the tsunami.

 Sasamunga: about 1,000 people affected

 Nambunambu: 2,000 people affected - houses and belongings seriously damaged after the tsunami.

 Simbu: 2,000 people seriously affected with everything they owned destroyed in the tsunami.

The office of the Solomon Islands Christian Association (SICA) is currently in the process of identifying the most needy beneficiaries seriously affected by the tsunami.

The relief materials will be bought by the WCC OP and packed before being transported to the affected areas for distribution. SICA, in close co-operation with the United Church of the Solomon Islands and the Church of Melanesia, will assist in the distribution of relief assistance. The headman of each village will also be instrumental in facilitating the distribution of assistance to the identified beneficiaries.

The distribution should be completed within a month.

The WCC OP will be responsible for the overall co-ordination of the relief programme as well as the reporting.

ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE: US$ 48,140

(For the detailed budget, kindly visit the ACT site. Thank you.)

ACTION

The ACT Co-ordinating Office has approved the use of US$ 48,140 towards the budget from its Rapid Response Fund and would be grateful to receive contributions to wholly or partially replenish this payment. Interchurch Organisation for Development Co-operation (ICCO) and Kerkinactie Global Ministries (PCN) have pledged Euro 15,000 and Primate's World Relief & Development Fund (PWRD) have pledged Canadian $10,000 towards this RRF to assist the tsunami affected communities in the Solomon Islands.

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ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.