[PDF-members] Magnitude-7.0 Earthquake Rocked Solomon Islands

[Shahil Chand]

'Quite some time' after the Solomon Islands' earthquake, Savina was still waiting for information
Pacific Beat /

By Prianka Srinivasan and Melissa Maykin
Posted 19h ago19 hours ago
A Solomon Islands woman sitting in a bright cafe raising her right arm in solidarity expression
Advocate Savina Nongebatu says people with disabilities are often left behind. (Facebook: Pacific Women Lead)
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When a powerful magnitude-7.0 earthquake rocked Solomon Islands on Tuesday, sending items "flying around the house", Honiara woman Savina Nongebatu was desperate to find out if she was in danger.

Key points:
Disability advocate Savina Nongebatu says schools used as shelters in Solomon Islands are not accessible
She says emergency alerts need to be sent quicker
The magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Guadalcanal on Tuesday
But sometime later, Ms Nongebatu, who uses a wheelchair, was still in the dark about what was happening.


"Yesterday was quite disappointing for me as I was waiting for some information, and it didn't come until quite sometime later," she said.

"People in the village were panicking, they were running - they tend to leave those with disabilities behind, not always by choice but because of their panicked state."

The first quake hit just off the south-west coast at 1pm local time according to the US Geological Survey, triggering a tsunami warning.

The second quake, with a magnitude of 6.0, was recorded nearby 30 minutes later.

The Solomon Islands Meteorological Service later said there was no tsunami threat, but warned about unusual sea currents on the coast.

According to reports, the quake damaged churches, houses and led to landslides in the north-west.

But there have been no reports of deaths or injuries.


When schools become shelters
Ms Nongebatu advocates for people with disabilities in Solomon Islands and said it was often hard to get appropriate assistance.

"It has always been difficult for people with disabilities to access services," she said.

"To put it plainly, Honiara doesn't have a shelter so usually when we have disasters like this, schools become a place for shelter.

"Most of these schools are not accessible for people like me who use wheelchairs, and my friends who are blind and deaf."

Ms Nongebatu said she wanted to see improvements in communications during emergencies.

"It would have been great to get text messages sent as soon as disaster hits, because people with disabilities have phones, their families with phones can tell them there has been an earthquake and to evacuate," she said.

a car with its windscreen broken and bonnet bust up from fallen masonry
A car damaged by falling masonry from a building in Honiara.(Supplied: Adilah Dolaiano)
"Especially for people with disabilities, we need assistance - if not from our families, then from a service provider."

The Solomon Islands Meteorological Service, which sends alerts on behalf of the government, has been contacted for comment.

Ms Nongebatu said Tuesday's earthquake was so powerful it reminded her of a week-long series of earthquakes that rattled Guadalcanal in 1977, when she was just a young girl.

"I was at home [yesterday] ... my TV screen fell on the floor and bits of pieces of things went flying around the house," she said.

"It was a really scary moment for all of us."

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-23/calls-for-better-support-after-solomon-islands-earthquake/101687320

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Shahil Chand | IT Officer

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