At least 30 people are confirmed to have died in Solomon Islands after a massive earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale triggered a tsunami, which struck the western part of the country on Monday morning. The final death toll may be significantly higher and more than 5,000 are believed to be homeless. The Solomon Islands government has appealed for international assistance and declared a state of emergency for the Western and Choiseul Provinces and the northern part of Isabel Island.
The initial earthquake raised alarms from Tokyo to Hawaii, and officials closed beaches on the east coast of Australia, some of them more than 2,000 kilometres away from the quake’s epicentre. The tsunami, however, caused no significant destruction outside the Solomons, although a family of five was killed in neighbouring Papua New Guinea’s Milne Bay Province. Solomon Islands—a small and impoverished nation of about half a million people living on more than 200 islands—now faces a humanitarian disaster. Thousands of people are homelessness and experiencing critical shortages of food, water, and medical supplies.
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http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/apr2007/solo-a05.shtml
Please also see:
Solomon Islands: UN aid workers start recovery efforts after tsunami
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22129&Cr=solomon&Cr1=tsunami
The initial earthquake raised alarms from Tokyo to Hawaii, and officials closed beaches on the east coast of Australia, some of them more than 2,000 kilometres away from the quake’s epicentre. The tsunami, however, caused no significant destruction outside the Solomons, although a family of five was killed in neighbouring Papua New Guinea’s Milne Bay Province. Solomon Islands—a small and impoverished nation of about half a million people living on more than 200 islands—now faces a humanitarian disaster. Thousands of people are homelessness and experiencing critical shortages of food, water, and medical supplies.
MORE
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/apr2007/solo-a05.shtml
Please also see:
Solomon Islands: UN aid workers start recovery efforts after tsunami
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22129&Cr=solomon&Cr1=tsunami