Updated 8 May 2013, 10:30 AEST

There's no relief in sight for the drought affected region of the northern Marshall Islands.

And as the rain holds off conditions will only get worse.

An estimated 5,000 people in the northern atolls are experiencing severe drought conditions with an additional 11,000 people affected by crop loss due tio the lack of rain.

Drinking water is being rationed and there's no water for bathing or other domestic purposes.

Australia and Samoa have signed an aid agreement to help in construction efforts from a cyclone that ripped through the Pacific nation last year.

Australia and Samoa have signed an aid agreement to help in construction efforts from a cyclone that ripped through the Pacific nation last year.

The donation of almost AU$7 million (US$7.25 million) will be used to help rebuild schools and medical facilities in Samoa damaged by Cyclone Evan in December.

It is estimated the cyclone caused AU$200 million (US$207 million) worth of damage.

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Liam Fox, PNG correspondent and wires

Solomon Islands National Referral Hospital is struggling to deal with the numbers of women giving birth in Honiara.

The closure of the maternity ward and women choosing to leave the provinces for Honiara has put pressure on facilities in the capital.

There was a 20 per cent increase in births in March, compared with the previous month.

Posted 15 April 2013, 7:23 AEST

A team of health specialists from Australia and Fiji has arrived in Solomon Islands to tackle an outbreak of dengue fever.

Since the first case was reported four months ago, the virus has continued to spread quickly.

Three people have died and there are at least 2,500 suspected cases of dengue fever, mostly in the capital Honiara.

However Dr Yvan Souarès, who manages the Health Protection program at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, says the virus could easily spread to other regions.

Food supplies are dwindling for more than 5000 villagers in Central Bougainville as a result of continuous heavy rain.

Food gardens in the coastal village of Rorovana have been washed away and an appeal has gone out for emergency government assistance.

Regional disaster coordinator, Franklin Lacui, told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat a long term plan to help the villagers relocate has been put into action, but decisions are yet to be made on the immediate issue of food aid.

Thirty days after a remote region of Solomon Islands was hit by an earthquake and tsunami, permanent housing and sanitation still pose a challenge.

The National Disaster Management Office in Honiara says over USD $25 million have been raised by government, international donors and local communities.

The magnitude 8.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck on February 6 claimed 10 lives and displaced over 4500 people.

PM By Southeast Asia correspondent Zoe Daniel
Updated Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:45pm AEDT

There are mounting allegations the Thai military is trading Rohingya refugees from Western Burma to human traffickers.

Last week PM broadcast allegations that Thai military officers shot and killed Rohingya off the Thai coast but there is also continued accusations that Thai officials are involved in selling Rohingya to brokers, who then sell them on as bonded labourers.

Updated 11 March 2013, 11:25 AEST

Gale force winds and flooding rains are forecast for much of Solomon Islands as Cyclone Sandra hovers about 300 kilometres off Rennel Island.

Listen: Winds downgraded as Cyclone Sandra moves away from Solomons (Credit: ABC)

The cyclone warning has now been extended to the northern islands of New Caledonia.

By Indonesia correspondent George Roberts

Emergency authorities are preparing for mass evacuations in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, with flooding predicted to reach higher levels than a major flood in January.

Disaster management officials are readying for more flooding in the capital after heavy rains in Jakarta and upstream in Bogor.

The National Disaster Mitigation Centre's Sutopo Purwo Nugroho says water levels in the dam at Bogor were higher last night than they were before January's big flood, which affected 250,000 people.