Tsunami on the Solomon Islands
Headquarters of the Solomon Meteorological Service.
© Hegel Goutier
On 2 April 2007 at 7.40am, a tsunami ravaged the coastal zones of Western and Choiseul Provinces of the Solomon Islands. Caused by an earthquake registering 8.1 on the Richter scale, its epicentre was just 45 km from the small fishing village and resort of Gizo (population 5,000), on Gizo Island (in the Western Province). Gizo is 205 km from Chirovanga, in Choiseul Province, the second most severely hit area, and 345 km from the capital Honiara, on the Island of Guadalcanal.
Due to its proximity to the earthquake’s epicentre, Gizo had no advance warning, but luckily the waves hit during daytime and, moreover, at a height of three metres they were lower and so less powerful than those of the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004. Nevertheless, they left dozens dead and thousands homeless, in Gizo in particular. Other places hit were the Naro and Taro Islands and, to a lesser extent, Vella La Vella, Kolombangana, New Georgia, and Simbo in the Western Province.
Loss in terms of human lives would have been a great deal more serious if the people in these areas had not benefited from projects to increase awareness developed following the Indian Ocean tsunami. “We were lucky it happened during the day and the people noticed that the sea had receded. That was a sign that something was not right and most people moved to higher ground”, explained former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who was still in office when The Courier visit in November 2007.
On the volcanic island of Simbo, about 30 kilometres from Gizo Island, the sea penetrated 200 metres inland, releasing the sulphur from the crater of an underwater volcano. The tsunami was followed by 25 aftershocks that terrified the population who remained at the very top of the island’s high ground longer than was necessary, for fear that another tsunami might strike. The flooding of the village church caused the death of the priest who was ordaining three worshippers.
Destruction of marine resources
According to the report by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the tsunami brought about the destruction of marine resources, both natural and at local aquaculture centres. This had a definite impact on the coastal communities as the aquaculture sector includes seafood, cultured pearls and aquarium fish, and most of the fish farms around Gizo were completely devastated.
After meeting with fish farmers, the SPC’s plans included arrangements to help them relaunch activities on the basis of stocks obtained from another island in the province, while, in the short term, supplying them with seafood so they could maintain their commercial activities. Among the hardest hit villages were Itana on Gizo Island (where lives were also lost), Rarumana and in Sagheragi where major stocks of ornamental fish were about to be transported to Honiara when the tsunami hit. In addition, reported the SPC, the local branch of the World Fish Center and the Gizo sub-regional centre of the CoPSPSI (Commercialisation of Seaweed Production in the Solomon Islands) had to considerably reduce their activities. As part of the recovery process, a ban on catches was introduced to help reconstitute stocks of hundreds of fish varieties, affecting local populations for whom they are a source of revenue.
The Coral Triangle
The damage caused to the underwater environment off Choiseul Island is still being assessed, but experts seem certain it is significant. This is one of the world’s richest areas in terms of the biodiversity of corals (almost 500 varieties) and reef fish (over 1,000 species), as the Solomon Islands are part of the so-called Coral Triangle together with Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea. Damage to the coral is expected to have a knock-on effect on the underwater biology.
Deforestation and climate change
Today, in the Solomon Islands 70% of state revenue comes from taxes levied on timber exports and the sale of logging licences. But this exploitation of the tropical forest is making the environment very fragile indeed. Logging is particularly intense in Western Province, the area hardest hit by the tsunami, and generally accepted forecasts predict that the forests here will disappear within no more than five years. Logging licences have already been issued for the limited forest cover that remains and logging companies are continuing to increase the rate of felling. This despite the fact that present logging rates are already three times what is considered to be sustainable. Already before the tsunami, Marovo lagoon in Western Province, the world’s longest, regarded by experts as perhaps the most beautiful in the world, was in serious danger due to advanced deforestation on the main island. Presently there are almost no fish or shellfish. Worse still, a growing number of logging companies are working on sloping terrain, bringing the risk of erosion to coastal areas and accentuating the potential effects of rising sea levels.
William Atu, Director of the Honiara Office’s Project “The Nature Conservancy”
www.nature.org, explained to The Courier how the deposits caused by erosion in a deep lagoon, as found in many locations on the Solomon Islands, can destroy the corals and have a knock-on effect on marine life.
The damage caused by the tsunami to the corals and marine life in the provinces of Isabel and Choiseul is the subject of a more precise evaluation to be published by the organisation, but Atu believes it is imperative, if only to protect the environment, for the government to legislate on the felling of the forests. Unfortunately, the government is either not doing this or is failing to implement existing laws, as too many people in the province are backed by the logging companies and public and private interests in the timber trade are very important in the country. Fishing practices are equally unsustainable says Atu, with catches by the country’s biggest commercial fishery, Solomon Taiyo Ltd, down by 20% since 1993.
Interview with former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.
Manasseh Sogavare was Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2006 to 2007. Derek Sikua succeeded him on 21 December 2007.
The Courier: After the country was struck by the tsunami, did you receive enough support from foreign countries to help you return to a normal situation?
I'd say no. There were a lot of promises. That's the usual thing donors do. “We love you and we are sending this, we are going to do this.” Now 6 months after this has happened we have yet to see these promises materialise. I think it's not only the Solomon Islands. I hear that the problem is the same with the Asia issue. They are still waiting now for this assistance to come. But, I must be fair. We have received assistance from those who made promises and effectively delivered. However, the problem remains that there are still would-be donors who promised assistance and have not yet delivered.
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