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A powerful undersea earthquake unleashed a tsunami
that pounded into the western Solomon Islands early Monday,
destroying entire villages and reportedly killing at least 15
people, officials said.
The wall of water triggered by
the 8.0-magnitude quake—which witnesses said was up to five meters
(16.5 feet) high—swamped towns, flattened homes, and sparked panic
among residents of the impoverished South Pacific state.
Communications to the quake-hit
area were patchy, making it difficult to assess the number of dead
and injured and the damage, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told
CNN.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning
Centre issued a region wide warning immediately after the quake,
stretching as far away as Japan, but later cancelled it.
At least 15 people were killed in
and around Gizo, the main town in Western Province and a popular
tourist and diving spot 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the quake’s
epicenter, the provincial leader said.
“Reports have come in that more
than 15 people died, just around Gizo, but with the other islands I
cannot tell you,” premier Alex Lokopio told Radio New Zealand.
The central government reported
12 deaths and the police at least four, but Sogavare warned the
death toll would likely rise once rescue teams reached the area.
“Most of the islands are
low-lying, and the extent of the damage is yet to be known,” the
prime minister said, adding that a team from his office, the Red
Cross and the police were headed to the area.
“It’s a very trying time for
us.”
In the capital Honiara, the head
of the Solomons National Disaster Council, Fred Fakari, told
journalists: “Some villages are completely wiped out.”
The government’s communications
unit reported six bodies found floating in seas near Gizo town,
hours after the shallow quake struck at 7:40 a.m. (2040 GMT Sunday).
The US Geological Survey reported
a series of aftershocks measuring up to a magnitude of 6.7.
Across the Pacific, governments
from Australia to New Caledonia and the Northern Marianas evacuated
schools and ordered coastal residents to move to higher ground, but
no damage was immediately reported.
Lokopio, the premier of Western
Province, said there was a desperate need for emergency supplies in
the Gizo area, where residents remained on a hill behind the town
amid strong aftershocks.
“What we desperately need now
is water, tents and food because almost 3,000-4,000 people are now
living on the hill at Gizo,” Lokopio said.
He said residents had been
surprised by the giant waves, which hit just minutes after the area
was rocked by the initial quake.
“There wasn’t any warning.
This was a very sad thing because the warning was the earth tremors.
It shook us very, very strongly and we were frightened.
“All of a sudden the sea was
rising up so all the people living around the coastal area, they ran
up on the hill.”
Lokopio said most of the
government buildings and businesses in Gizo had been destroyed,
along with houses in low-lying areas.
Police quoted witnesses as saying
waves washed up to 500 meters (yards) inland and destroyed houses,
triggered landslides and forced residents to evacuate.
The tsunami forced the temporary
closure of the airport at Gizo. It later reopened, and aircraft were
rushed to the area to distribute some limited emergency supplies and
assess the damage.
The Solomons government disaster
council was meeting late Monday afternoon to decide whether to
declare a state of emergency.
In Honiara, news of the quake
sent people running from waterfront markets, said Daniel Evans, an
Australian lawyer.
“I just saw everyone on the
street start to run and scream,” he told AFP.
The Solomon Islands, 2,575
kilometers east of Australia, has a little over half a million
people living on dozens of islands.
It is part of the Pacific “Ring
of Fire” where continental plates meet and frequently experiences
volcanic and seismic activity.
Australian officials shut beaches
on the east coast and some ferry services in Sydney were canceled,
but scientists said the wave did not pose a serious threat to
Australia.
--AFP
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