NDMO steps in to address Gizo water shortage
A well in the Gizo school teachers’ compound
Officials from the National Disaster Management Office in Honiara visited Gizo, Western Province to assess the water shortage in the provincial capital.
NDMO Director Loti Yates yesterday met with the Western Province Disaster Committee, and some immediate measures to address the situation were suggested.
Mr Yates said they will establish certain points in Gizo where water can be delivered to people from tanks.
They also suggested that a formal request be made to the Solomon Islands Red Cross to bring a water module to Gizo to purify water.
The province should take the primary responsibility for identifying a water source for the module to clean, Mr Yates said.
The water would then be transported to the allocated tanks for distribution to Gizo town.
“While this is just the plan, we are hoping that the rains will soon come and the water situation in Gizo will be averted and therefore, people will go back to normalcy,” Mr Yates said. “It is quite strange in that we are now in the cyclone season where there should be a lot of rainwater around, but Gizo is opposite and they’re struggling to get water.”
By Kikiva Tuni