Sigatoka, Fiji – The Pacific Humanitarian Response Coordination Mechanism (PResCoM) has been activated for the first time to support disaster response efforts in the Solomon Islands following Tropical Cyclone Maila.
The activation was formally requested by the Government of Solomon Islands to the PResCoM Operational Coordinator, the Pacific Community (SPC), on Saturday, 11 April, after a State of Disaster was declared for Western Province and Choiseul Province.
Tropical Cyclone Maila brought damaging winds, heavy rainfall, coastal inundation, and flooding, causing widespread impacts across affected areas. Provincial Disaster Committees have been activated in Western, Choiseul, and Isabel Provinces to support response and coordination.
For communities affected by the cyclone, the activation of PResCoM means that international and regional support can be better coordinated and mobilised alongside other efforts already underway. This includes support to provide more visibility into the movement of humanitarian emergency relief supplies into affected areas, access to logistics and coordination expertise, and drawing on technical assistance from across the Pacific.
Importantly, the mechanism operates at the request of the affected country and works through existing national and provincial disaster management arrangements, reinforcing local leadership.
PResCoM was endorsed by the Pacific Disaster Risk Management Ministers in 2025 as an agreed Pacific regional mechanism for coordinating disaster response support when countries impacted by events request assistance. It supports structured, country-led operations, logistics and supply chain facilitation, inter-country support between National Disaster Management Offices, and the provision of technical and coordination advice to supplement national mechanisms.
The PResCoM support is designed to complement and strengthen national disaster management systems through agreed Standard Operating Procedures.
The activation identified several priority actions, including regional coordination support for international assistance, logistics support to transport humanitarian emergency relief supplies to the Western Province, response coordination advice and support to provincial authorities, including the deployment of SPC staff, and the facilitation of inter-country support between National Disaster Management Offices.
In line with PResCoM procedures, core members (SPC, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)) have been advised of the activation and informed of these priorities.
SPC supports PResCoM through its coordination and information-sharing functions in close collaboration with participating countries and regional and international partners. SPC continues to monitor hazard events affecting the region and provides regular situational updates to Directors of National Disaster Management Offices.
Its activation as a result of Tropical Cyclone Maila impacts comes at a time of high disaster activity across the Pacific, underscoring the need for effective regional coordination to support national responses.
PresCoM activation was one of the agenda points at the Pacific Regional Disaster and Emergency Managers Meeting, convened in Fiji this week, and attended by Disaster Managers, regional and international, civil society, and government representatives from 24 member states and territories of SPC.
– SPC
