Violent earthquake destroys Georgina’s home

The tsunami that struck the Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands on 6 February 2013 amazingly missed Georgina’s home, but the violent shaking from the 8.0 earthquake destroyed it anyway. 

Georgina was working in her garden near her house when she felt the ground begin to shake. She felt dizzy from the vibrations and could not stand so she held onto a tree and slowly sat down. But then she heard people screaming “tsunami, tsunami coming,” and she quickly ran to her house and called for her children who were playing and they all ran to the hills behind the village.

“It was a frightening experience, as people were shouting here and there for their family members to run to the hills,” said Georgina.

Georgina and her boys stayed up in the hills until later that afternoon, she decided to come down back to her village. As she arrived back she could not believe what she saw.

“I was shocked to see my house had collapsed,” said Georgina.

Georgina  searched through the remains of her home and  removed some of their household items. But the continuous shaking made her scared of staying in the village so she gathered up whatever little they could carry and headed back to the hills.

Georgina and her family spent two weeks sleeping in the hills and have now returned back to their village to start picking up the pieces to rebuild their house again.

World Vision has been distributing relief supplies to the 23 villages in Temotu Province, Solomon Islands that were devastated by the tsunami. However, there are now more cases of houses being damaged or partly damaged in other villages by the effects of the earthquake.

World Vision is currently working with the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and other partner agencies to assist those communities as well by providing shelter kits, water and water purification tablets as many of their water sources have been covered with mud from landslides.

World Vision Temotu Area Program Manager Hannah Malkmus said the response had been challenging.

“We were mainly focusing our relief distribution on the tsunami affected areas but now there are also other villages that have been affected by the earthquake which we have to consider as well,” said Hannah.

“World Vision is sending a team with some shelter kits, water and WASH kits on a boat to distribute to the earthquake impacted communities.”

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For further information: Christina Muge, Communications Officer, WV Solomon Islands, Phone: +677 23092.