WSPA - Animals in Disasters Blog

Update: Disaster Response Team in Soloman Islands

Over the past few days we have been working our way through the villages of the remote Santa Cruz Islands, which lie about 400 kilometres southeast of the Solomon chain. There are many devastated villages on both the western and southern coastlines. In one of the worst hit, Nea, on the south side of the islands, there are flattened houses everywhere – one was even lifted by the wave and carried into the middle of a road!

We have learned that as the villagers evacuated they attempted to release their livestock, which is a common practice here and gives the animals a fighting chance of escaping the water. The only trouble now is that most people cannot find their frightened pigs, which have run off into the bushes and hills. This is making our job of locating and treating injured animals quite challenging. On the positive side, the large majority of animals that we have seen that have managed to survive, all appear healthy.

We will be continuing our work in the days ahead to identify animals that need our help. We are also in contact with several aid organisations and have asked them to report any animals that require veterinary care due to illness, injury and dehydration.

UPDATE: Disaster Response Team in Solomon Islands

We arrived in Honiara the capital of Solomon Islands and have confirmed we’ll be on the ground in Santa Cruz tomorrow. 

Today, we met with government departments including the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to plan out how we can work alongside them and complement the ongoing relief efforts in Temotu Province where Santa Cruz Island is located. A director at the Ministry said they were “very happy to have the extra hands to help.”

The Solomon Islands Government officially declared a State of Disaster for Santa Cruz Islands today. Reports from the remote islands are incomplete, so we still don’t know the scale of the impact the earthquake, tsunami and numerous large aftershocks have had on the local animal population. Little is known about the overall animal numbers as the last census was conducted in the 1970s. We anticipate that we’ll mostly find pigs, chickens and dogs as the main animals affected.

Local media reports indicate thousands have evacuated villages along the coasts and that the intensity of the aftershocks  - some measuring over 7.0 is preventing villagers from returning home or even collecting what they need to bring to emergency evacuation centres.

For Solomon Islands media, this is the top story and the radio stations and newspapers were eager to talk to us about our work here. Each of the reporters I spoke to readily understood that protecting animals helps whole communities and were very keen to get the word out that help has arrived for the animals of Solomon Islands.

 

 

 

 

                               Speaking to local radio station PAOA FM about WSPA's disaster response in Solomon Islands

 

 

 

 

Earthquake in Solomon Islands

Following the 8.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Solomon Islands on Wednesday, WSPA has deployed a Disaster Response Team to determine the impact of the disaster on the animal community and what type of response is required.

Continued aftershocks (more than 23 in total) exceeding 5.0 magnitude are worsening the situation and hampering current relief efforts. Preliminary reports indicate at least four villages have been hit, at least 50 homes destroyed, six deaths, and several people missing. Animal fatalities have been discovered amongst the tsunami debris and it is thought that hundreds of animals have been left injured or stray with virtually no access to veterinary care, food or water supplies.

WSPA is accompanied by Ritchie Dawson, chief inspector at the Wellington, New Zealand SPCA and is working closely with the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office.

Keep checking the blog for further updates from the field.