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Five dead as Solomons quake sparks Pacific tsunami - The Times of India
The area affected by the tsunami warning
following a major earthquake measuring 8.0
magnitude off the Solomon Islands.
HONIARA: A major 8 magnitude
earthquake jolted the Solomon
Islands on Wednesday with small
tsunami waves buffeting Pacific
coasts, leaving at least five people
dead and dozens of homes damaged or destroyed. A quake-generated wave of just
under one metre (three feet)
reached parts of the Solomons,
and Vanuatu and New Caledonia
also reported rising sea levels,
before a region-wide tsunami alert was lifted. Sirens were heard in Fiji, locals said. "Chaos in the streets of Suva as everyone
tries to avoid the tsunami!!" tweeted Ratu
Nemani Tebana from the Fiji capital. Japan, which was hit by a huge tsunami in March
2011 that killed more than 19,000 people, was
also on edge for a time with the national weather
agency warning that a minor tsunami could
come ashore. Only small waves were detected. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancelled its
regional alert for Pacific-island nations at 0350
GMT, about two and a half hours after the
powerful quake struck at 0112 GMT near the
Santa Cruz Islands in the Solomons. Australian and US monitors said a tsunami wave
measuring 91 centimetres washed into the town
of Lata, on the main Santa Cruz island of Ndende. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs said the wave appeared to
have travelled 500 metres inland, inundating
Lata's airstrip as well as surrounding villages,
flattening many traditional houses. "We can report five dead and three injured. One
of the dead was a male child, three were elderly
women and one an elderly man," Chris Rogers, a
nurse at Lata Hospital, told AFP. Solomons Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo's
office said four villages on the Santa Cruz Islands
had been hit by the tsunami. "Latest reports suggest that between 60 to 70
homes have been damaged by waves crashing
into at least four villages on Santa Cruz Islands,"
Lilo's spokesman George Herming told AFP. "At this stage, authorities are still trying to
establish the exact number and extent of
damage. Communication to (the) Santa Cruz
Islands is difficult due to the remoteness of the
islands." Solomon Islands Red Cross secretary general
Joanne Zoleveke said she had been told at least
three villages were hit, with houses washed
away. "In the Solomon Islands when we talk about
villages there can be anything from 10 to 30
houses," she said. With Lata's airstrip out of commission, officials
were hoping to fly over the area early Thursday
to assess the damage better. The US Geological Survey said the quake struck
the Santa Cruz Islands, which have been rocked
by a series of strong tremors over the past week,
at a depth of 28.7 kilometres (18 miles). About 20 aftershocks were recorded, including
one at 6.6-magnitude. "Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was
generated," the Hawaii-based Pacific warning
centre said after the 8 quake, before lifting its
tsunami alert for several island nations. Lata Hospital director of nursing Augustine Bilve
said some patients were evacuated to higher
ground to prepare for any injured from the
villages along the coast. Settlements did not appear to be seriously
damaged in the quake, he said, but added: "We
were told that after the shaking, waves came to
the villages." In 2007 a tsunami following an 8 magnitude
earthquake killed at least 52 people in the
Solomons and left thousands homeless. The
quake lifted an entire island and pushed out its
shoreline by dozens of metres. The Solomons are part of the "Ring of Fire", a
zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific that is
subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In December 2004, a 9.3-magnitude quake off
Indonesia triggered a catastrophic tsunami that
killed 226,000 people around the Indian Ocean.
The area affected by the tsunami warning
following a major earthquake measuring 8.0
magnitude off the Solomon Islands.
HONIARA: A major 8 magnitude
earthquake jolted the Solomon
Islands on Wednesday with small
tsunami waves buffeting Pacific
coasts, leaving at least five people
dead and dozens of homes damaged or destroyed. A quake-generated wave of just
under one metre (three feet)
reached parts of the Solomons,
and Vanuatu and New Caledonia
also reported rising sea levels,
before a region-wide tsunami alert was lifted. Sirens were heard in Fiji, locals said. "Chaos in the streets of Suva as everyone
tries to avoid the tsunami!!" tweeted Ratu
Nemani Tebana from the Fiji capital. Japan, which was hit by a huge tsunami in March
2011 that killed more than 19,000 people, was
also on edge for a time with the national weather
agency warning that a minor tsunami could
come ashore. Only small waves were detected. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancelled its
regional alert for Pacific-island nations at 0350
GMT, about two and a half hours after the
powerful quake struck at 0112 GMT near the
Santa Cruz Islands in the Solomons. Australian and US monitors said a tsunami wave
measuring 91 centimetres washed into the town
of Lata, on the main Santa Cruz island of Ndende. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs said the wave appeared to
have travelled 500 metres inland, inundating
Lata's airstrip as well as surrounding villages,
flattening many traditional houses. "We can report five dead and three injured. One
of the dead was a male child, three were elderly
women and one an elderly man," Chris Rogers, a
nurse at Lata Hospital, told AFP. Solomons Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo's
office said four villages on the Santa Cruz Islands
had been hit by the tsunami. "Latest reports suggest that between 60 to 70
homes have been damaged by waves crashing
into at least four villages on Santa Cruz Islands,"
Lilo's spokesman George Herming told AFP. "At this stage, authorities are still trying to
establish the exact number and extent of
damage. Communication to (the) Santa Cruz
Islands is difficult due to the remoteness of the
islands." Solomon Islands Red Cross secretary general
Joanne Zoleveke said she had been told at least
three villages were hit, with houses washed
away. "In the Solomon Islands when we talk about
villages there can be anything from 10 to 30
houses," she said. With Lata's airstrip out of commission, officials
were hoping to fly over the area early Thursday
to assess the damage better. The US Geological Survey said the quake struck
the Santa Cruz Islands, which have been rocked
by a series of strong tremors over the past week,
at a depth of 28.7 kilometres (18 miles). About 20 aftershocks were recorded, including
one at 6.6-magnitude. "Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was
generated," the Hawaii-based Pacific warning
centre said after the 8 quake, before lifting its
tsunami alert for several island nations. Lata Hospital director of nursing Augustine Bilve
said some patients were evacuated to higher
ground to prepare for any injured from the
villages along the coast. Settlements did not appear to be seriously
damaged in the quake, he said, but added: "We
were told that after the shaking, waves came to
the villages." In 2007 a tsunami following an 8 magnitude
earthquake killed at least 52 people in the
Solomons and left thousands homeless. The
quake lifted an entire island and pushed out its
shoreline by dozens of metres. The Solomons are part of the "Ring of Fire", a
zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific that is
subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In December 2004, a 9.3-magnitude quake off
Indonesia triggered a catastrophic tsunami that
killed 226,000 people around the Indian Ocean.
