In pictures: Flash floods hit Solomon Islands
- Published
Flash floods have killed at least 21 people and left thousands more homeless in the Solomon Islands, officials say.
The Matanikau river burst its banks amid heavy rain late last week, sweeping away houses and bridges in the capital city of Honiara.
At least 76 houses and 13 bridges were damaged from the flash floods and strong winds, the Solomon Islands National Emergency Operations Centre said.
This bridge in the city's Chinatown district was washed away by flood water.
Assessment teams are being sent to Guadalcanal Plains and aid agencies say the full extent of the damage is not yet known.
Local media said about 30 people still remain unaccounted for. "Some people who went into the river will probably not be found as they would have been swept out to sea," Red Cross aid worker Cherise Chadwick said.
Thousands of people were forced to take refuge in emergency shelters in Honiara.
The UN Office for the Co- ordination of Humanitarian Affairs listed emergency shelter, food and protection of vulnerable people as top priorities. The Solomon Islands Red Cross said it was struggling to feed thousands of evacuees as emergency food stocks were running low.
Solomons Red Cross Secretary General Joanne Zoleveke described the floods as "a tragedy none of us saw coming".
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