Gizo has a small landing strip on the nearby island of Nusatupe to the north east of the town, making it relatively developed compared to other settlements in the general vicinity.

This event led to Ghizo island being declared as a property of the state, rather than the usual customary ownership prevalent in much of the rest of the Solomons.

As a secondary consequence becoming an administrative and business centre because of the relative ease with which registered land titles could be obtained.

Gizo was the operating base for Robert Ballard's The Search for Kennedy's PT 109, which was a National Geographic Channel television special.

The son of Eroni Kumana, who was one of the two natives that found the shipwrecked Lt. John F. Kennedy and his surviving men, lives on the island.

The tsunami hit during daylight hours, giving people warning to seek higher ground, as the tide withdrew in advance of the wall of water.

Ten metre-high waves hit nearby Sasamunga (to the north-east of Gizo on the island of Choiseul), destroying houses, food gardens and a hospital.