Aid workers have warned of a humanitarian crisis in Solomon Islands following yesterday's earthquake and tsunami (Reuters). As is the case with many disasters, this one is a product of the interaction of a natural hazard with existing sources of vulnerability, including:- existing poor infrastructure
- damage to already limited water supplies
- a tropical climate in which infection can set in very quickly
- limited local supplies of antibiotics and anti-malarials
- damage to housing in an area in which malaria is prevalent
- inundation of gardens in a country where most people depend on subsistence agriculture (even in urban areas)
- damage to already limited stores of dry food
- the loss of boats in poor communities which are heavily reliant on fishing
For a list of Australian agencies working in Solomon Islands, click here.
2 comments:
hey Rebecca, thanks for starting up on the tsunami in blog-land. will be posting something on mine tomorrow...i should rename it "solo disasters", if you see what my last postings were....
paul
Hey Paul, thanks for your comment - aside from anything else, I might never have seen your fantastic blogs if it weren't for the fact that you commented here!
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