Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. E-mail: esnmd mac. Extreme weather events are common and increasing in intensity in the southwestern Pacific region. Health impacts from cyclones and tropical storms cause acute injuries and infectious disease outbreaks. Defining population vulnerability to extreme weather events by examining a recent flood in Honiara, Solomon Islands, can help stakeholders and policymakers adapt development to reduce future threats.
The acute and subacute health impacts following the April floods were defined using data obtained from hospitals and clinics, the Ministry of Health and in-country World Health Organization office in Honiara. Geographical information system GIS was used to assess morbidity and mortality, and vulnerability of the health system infrastructure and households in Honiara.
The April flash floods were responsible for 21 acute deaths, 33 injuries, and a diarrhea outbreak that affected 8, people with 10 pediatric deaths. Honiara, Solomon Islands, is a rapidly growing, highly vulnerable urban Pacific Island environment. Evaluation of the mortality and morbidity from the April floods as well as the infectious disease outbreaks that followed allows public health specialists and policy makers to understand the health system and populations vulnerability to future shocks.
Understanding the negative impacts natural disaster have on people living in urban Pacific environments will help the government as well as development partners in crafting resilient adaptation development.
These impacts include sea level rise, changing ocean chemistry, increasing sea and land temperatures, rainfall variability resulting in floods versus droughts, and exposure to more intense storms. Floods are the most common type of disaster worldwide and heavily populated urban Pacific coastal areas are particularly vulnerable to riverine flooding and storm surge that exacerbates land loss and displaces people.
