Social and economic assessment of climate proofing of road infrastructure in the Western Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

Abstract

The Solomon Islands are exposed to a wide range of geological, hydrological and climatic hazards, including tropical cyclones, landslides, floods and droughts. Between 1980 and 2009, for example, the country experienced 17 major disaster events costing over USD20 million dollars and affecting almost 300,000 people. Of these there were six major natural disasters – two earthquakes and four tropical cyclones, and associated floods and storms, directly impacting over 100,000 people with over 100 deaths. Climate related events, including floods, landslides and storms, dominate the disaster events, both in terms of the number of incidents as well as the number of people affected and damage and losses experienced