Approximately 7000 people across 3 provinces are reported to have been affected by earthquakes in the Solomon Islands.
The latest update from disaster authorities in the country also indicate that around 200 buildings including 11 schools and a medical clinic have been destroyed or damaged in the Makira & Ulawa, Malaita and Guadalcanal provinces.
It is understood some of these houses were also hit by waves generated by the quakes.
The original 7.8 magnitude quake which struck near Makira in the country's south on Friday was followed by a powerful 6.9 magnitude aftershock on Saturday morning.
The country director for World Vision Solomon Islands Janes Ginting told Koroi Hawkins Saturday's powerful aftershock has caused a lot of anxiety in already shaken communities.
A Solomon Islands Red Cross worker surveys damage following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 9 December 2016
Photo: Supplied/Solomon Islands Red Cross
Transcript
JANES GINTING: So what happened after the earthquake there is some people after the first..(inaudible)...when they returned back home and there is another aftershock of course they went up again to higher grounds. And some of them went to the clinic and after the aftershock they went back to the higher ground. So there is still a lot of anxiety after the subsequent shocks or tremors. And people aren't back to normalcy.
KOROI HAWKINS: And in terms of any reports or figures we are still, I assume you are waiting for those teams that are there now to report back to you?
JG: We do have an updated figure from the government. This is now affecting about 7000 people in three provinces. In Makira, Malaita and the nearest are actually in Guadalcanal around 1200 people. And over 200 houses destroyed or damaged or washed by the waves and around eleven schools actually damaged and one clinic damaged. I think it is in Tetere village in the south-west of Makira.
KH: Right that is much bigger than what we heard, the other provinces when did those come in?
JG: Yes I guess the first two days more reports [were] coming from Makira because that is the assumed closest area for the epicentre but Malaita is the most populated island in Solomon Islands and there is quite a poor reception of mobile and only communicated by radio and also in some areas in Makira. So I guess the data start emerging to come when people, especially from the capital, start to get more information. So actually we got now more people affected in Malaita and Makira. Like 3234 in Malaita and 2400 in Makira and around 1200 in Guadalcanal. So as you can imagine this is all coming from radio communications and partial mobile communication. So in the next five or six days we will probably be hearing more from the field assessment teams.
KH: Right and we talked, last time we spoke about immediate emergency response. What about a longer term response, what do you think these people will be needing?
JG: We anticipate needs around water and sanitation because either water tanks or gravity-fed systems are probably broken. There are probably immediate needs or medium-term needs on phsycho-social support for the people especially children and people living with disabilities. And they will need some support for livelihoods, especially local gardening.
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