Sydney. District Apostle Andrew Andersen from Australia, who is responsible for the Solomon Islands, informs us that as many as three New Apostolic brethren from the local congregations lost their lives during the devastating tsunami that struck the islands. To date no reliable information is available.

On Monday, 2 April a gigantic tidal wave swept the coasts of the archipelago known as the Solomon Islands. Ten-metre waves flattened many buildings near the coasts. The island of Gizo seems to have been hardest hit. District Apostle Andersen received the news from District Elder Bolana Deve, the local church district leader. At the time the catastrophe struck, the latter had been visiting some New Apostolic families in the area.

We are told at present that the region has been completely cut off from the outside world. No detailed information has managed to get through, however it appears that three members from the local congregations have lost their lives in the disaster. The church administration in Australia is providing first aid to the best degree possible. Nevertheless it will still take a number of days before the full scope of the tragedy is known. District Apostle Andrew Andersen: “We can certainly use every prayer, because the people here still have a very difficult time ahead of them.”

There are a total of 23 New Apostolic congregations comprised of around 750 members on the islands of the Solomon archipelago that have been affected by the catastrophe.

The Solomon Islands are an island state located in the Southwest Pacific. Although they consist of some 1,000 individual islands and atolls, few are inhabited. To date local relief organisations estimate that as many as 15 people lost their lives in the gigantic waves.