residents and aid workers in the flood-ravaged Solomon Islands are continuing to scour debris for bodies three days after flash floods tore through the capital Honiara.
Although the chances of finding more survivors appeared remote, officials said on Sunday they could not give up hope.
"We had one father who had been separated from his wife and children for two days and we were able to track the family down," Red Cross aid worker Cherise Chadwick said.
The death toll was put at 21, with aid agencies saying up to 40 people remained unaccounted for and about 49,000 had been displaced.
"Some people who went into the river will probably not be found as they would have been swept out to sea," Ms Chadwick said, adding that the Red Cross had played a leading role rescuing people after the Matanikau River burst its banks.
Floodwaters and landslides swept away riverside communities as Honiara was pounded by a torrential tropical storm on Thursday, causing severe infrastructure damage to fresh water supplies, sewerage systems and electricity.
After a meeting with aid agencies, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs listed their priorities as emergency shelter, food, health, protection of vulnerable people, psychosocial support and water, sanitation and hygiene.
The international airport was reopened Sunday, after hasty work to remove two houses and other debris that were washed onto the runway, paving the way for the arrival of flights carrying urgently needed relief supplies.
Relatives began burying their dead on Saturday as more bodies were discovered along Honiara’s coastline.
Two mothers killed when the flood swept them away from their Koa Hill settlement were buried at Kola’a Ridge cemetery.
“We are in a state of disaster so there’s no need to take the bodies home,” a relative told the Sunday Star.
Kola’a Ridge cemetery was full but relatives scrambled and located two spaces to dig the graves.
One of the mothers also lost her two children, whose bodies are yet to be recovered.
Meanwhile, scores of people are still reported missing, as the death toll rose from nine on Friday to 13 on Saturday.
Authorities say the death toll will continue to increase.
Four bodies were recovered along Honiara’s coastline on Saturday.
Sunday 06 April 2014
http://www.smh.com.au/world/solomon-islands-floods-search-continues-for-missing-20140406-zqrjz.html
http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/23307-relatives-bury-flood-victims
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