Disaster READY Annual Report 2022-23 Solomon Islands

This report covers Disaster READY’s achievements and challenges in Solomon Islands in the first year of the program’s second five-year phase.

Second only to Vanuatu on the 2021 World Risk Index, communities in Solomon Islands face disasters, including cyclones, tsunamis, floods, and drought. With a population of approximately 560,000 people spread over 347 inhabited islands, there can be significant coordination, logistics, and communication challenges during emergencies.

In November 2022, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara, triggering a tsunami warning. Thirty minutes later, a second 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit. Phone lines went down, and the nation experienced widespread power outages but there was no major damage to buildings and no deaths or injuries.