Source: Save the Children
Communities across Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea are currently facing the threat of Tropical Cyclone Maila, which has been upgraded to a category 5 system, while children and families in Fiji assess the damage left behind by Tropical Cyclone Vaianu.
Save the Children staff across Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea have been preparing for the arrival of TC Maila and are monitoring the tropical cyclone closely, ready to support children and their communities in affected areas, while staff in Fiji are working to understand the level of damage and needs as the immediate threat of TC Vaianu eases.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has warned that once TC Maila has hit Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, it may move across Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula sometime over the weekend.
Save the Children Pacific Regional Director, Kim Koch said the current situation unfolding across three Pacific Island nations clearly demonstrates the disaster-prone nature of the region and reaffirms the need to ensure children and their communities are supported in responding to and recovering from multiple disasters.
“In Solomon Islands, we understand the impact of the cyclone has already been felt, with reports of families evacuating their homes and seeking shelter in evacuation centres in parts of Choiseul and Western Province with early reports of damage to buildings, schools and food gardens.
“The impact of TC Maila is also being felt across the east of Papua New Guinea and Bougainville, with staff on the ground reporting strong gale winds, heavy flooding, severely damaged houses, food sources flooded, and washed-out roads. There are also reports of families evacuating their homes and seeking shelter on higher grounds.
“While the immediate threat of TC Vaianu has eased, the impacts of the Tropical Cyclone on coastal communities in Fiji is starting to become clear, with the disaster bringing heavy rain, flash flooding and strong winds, potentially damaging key roads and buildings across the impacted regions in the country, many communities will face days if not weeks of recovery ahead.
“As three Pacific Island nations grapple with multiple cyclones simultaneously, children are invariably among the hardest hitand this crisis is no exception, with many having to leave everything behind, including their homes and belongings in search of shelter.
“The reported flooding, landslides and sustained rainfall across the affected countries are likely to cause widespread damage to critical infrastructure including schools, health clinics and homes, leaving children without access to education and urgent medical care.
“Save the Children stands ready to work alongside communities and governments across the region to do everything we can to meet the urgent needs of children and their families as they face yet another devastating disaster.”
Climate induced disasters disproportionately impact children and young people, particularly as a result of disruption to education and psychosocial trauma associated with ongoing experiences of intensifying disasters.
In October 2025, Save the Children released a new study warning that the climate crisis and its impacts, such as more frequent and intense cyclones, are making it significantly harder for families across the Pacific to access healthy food, worsening child malnutrition rates across the region.
Save the Children has a long history of responding to emergencies in the Pacific, ensuring we work alongside Pacific governments in the coordination of any response.
About Save the Children NZ:
Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.
Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Areas of work include child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, and alleviating child poverty.
