SPC Geoscience Division

Tuesday 22 April 2014, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Honiara – Staff of SPC's Solomon Islands Country Office were saddened to witness the human tragedy of the recent floods. The loss of life when the Mataniko and other rivers burst their banks and the old Mataniko bridge collapsed highlighted the plight of poor squatters with little choice but to occupy land that regularly floods.

Country Office Manager, Mia Rimon, contacted SPC Director-General Dr Colin Tukuitonga and the Director of SPC's Applied Geoscience and Technology Division (AGTD) Mike Petterson with a request for assistance. A request came also from the Solomon Islands Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey (MLHS) to provide a geohazards assessment.

SPC responded to these appeals for help; the AGTD Director arrived in Honiara with his team and met with the permanent secretaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, MLHS and the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Rural Electrification (MEMRE). They presented unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, or drone) technology to the government to obtain precise imagery of the flooded areas.