AUTHORITIES WARN AGAINST RESETTLING ON RIVER BANKS

Environmental Health National Director Tom Nanau. Photo: Courtesy of arsenic.ddo

Environmental Health National Director Tom Nanau. Photo: Courtesy of arsenic.ddo

National Environmental Health Director of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Tom Nanau has warned victims of the recent flooding who are planing to return to their community to first seek advice from Health Emergency Operation Centre.

Speaking to the local media, Mr Nanau says while he understands some victims have planed to return and rebuild their homes on the affected sites, he urged them to first of all seek sound advice from the health authority.

“There are people who may be wanting to return to their places and their houses and as a responsible authority the HEOC and other relevant clusters we just cannot say oh yes you may go now goodbye No!. It’s important we have been instructed to ensure that any families wishing to return to their places, firstly we want to know who they are, how many of them, where they’ll return to and then we have to carry out another additional assessment of their place.”

Meanwhile, National Referral Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Dr George Manimu says the National Government should now assist the victims to avoid returning to their affected communities which are now prone to flooding.

“Those who are settling illegally at vulnerable places, ok the government has to make some kind of decision to evacuate them from those places, even to go back to the provinces, and if you want to return to Honiara, we should only identify certain portions or allocations of land where you can apply to reside and where it is safe. But never to reside anywhere you want, this should teach us a lesson.”

SIBC News understands most of the victims are still living in the evacuation centers as emergency efforts continue.

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