By RODRICK DESURI
Auki
Passengers from the southern end of West Kwaio and West Are’are have to board three vehicles before reaching Auki town due to the flooding of two rivers.
Malaita island was inundated by heavy rains over the weekend. The heavy rains is due to the trough which lies over the country, linked to the tropical low located south of Rennell and Bellona province.
Teacher Wilfred Oemauri, who traveled to Auki on Monday but arrived on Tuesday, January 20, told Island Sun the flooding from the Kwari’ekwa and Folu rivers in the West Kwaio Constituency has cut the main road into three segments.
He explained that this has created extra effort and expense, as the budget must accommodate the three modes of transportation.
“You’ll first take a truck from Heo to travel to Kwari’ekwa, the second trip is from Kwari’ekwa to Fulo, and the third trip is from Fulo directly to Auki,” he said.
“If we plan to travel to Auki, we have to go and sleep overnight at Kwari’ekwa, and the next day we will be waiting for the second trip to Fulo and then to Auki.”
Meanwhile, Frank Fitoo from the Weather Office in Auki said that the weather patterns are still not stable and can change at any time.
He encouraged everyone to take precaution and plan their travel before traveling to any destination.
“Yes, our weather is still not safe and stable, so I just encourage everyone to take extra precautions when traveling,” he said.
“Our weather patterns can change at any time.”
