Tsunami in Solomon Islands (06.02.2013)

Gerofil

Furacão
Registo
21 Mar 2007
Mensagens
10,059
Local
Estremoz
6 dead, villages destroyed in Solomons tsunami

SYDNEY (AP) — Six bodies, including a child's, have been found in the sodden wreckage left by a tsunami that smashed into villages in the Solomon Islands, flattening dozens of homes in the South Pacific island chain. The 1.5-meter (4 foot, 11-inch) waves that roared inland on Santa Cruz Island, in the eastern Solomons, on Wednesday were too fast to outrun for five elderly villagers and one child, who died after being sucked under the rushing water, George Herming, a spokesman for the prime minister, said Thursday. Several other people were still missing and dozens of strong aftershocks were keeping frightened villagers from returning to the coast, Herming said.
"People are still scared of going back to their homes because there's nothing left, so they are residing in temporary shelters on higher ground," Herming said. The tsunami was generated by a powerful 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck near the town of Lata, on Santa Cruz in Temotu, the easternmost province in the Solomons. Temotu has a population of around 30,000.
Smaller waves were recorded in Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The damage appeared to be concentrated to the west side of Santa Cruz, with five villages wiped out, Herming said. Authorities were still struggling to reach the remote area but an estimated 100 homes had been damaged or destroyed, he said.
The tsunami flooded the airstrip at the nearest airport and left it littered with debris, preventing relief workers from reaching the region by air. Smaller islands may also have sustained some damage, but workers had also not yet reached those areas, Herming said. More than 50 people were killed and thousands lost their homes in April 2007 when a magnitude-8.1 quake hit the western Solomon Islands, sending waves crashing into coastal villages.
The Solomons comprise more than 200 islands with a population of about 552,000 people. They lie on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur.

Fonte: Yahoo! News

Nota: Peço desculpa por ter colocado um vídeo que não correspondia à notícia. Agradeço a vossa chamada de atenção. Já enviei pedido de desculpas a todos os que alertaram para o meu erro.
 


Lousano

Cumulonimbus
Registo
12 Out 2008
Mensagens
3,635
Local
Lousã/Casais do Baleal
Deadly tsunami caused widespread destructions on Santa Cruz islands

UP to six people were confirmed dead and others still missing after a deadly tsunami hit coastal villages on Santa Cruz island, Temotu Province yesterday.

The tsunami was triggered by a powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake that struck near 33 kilometres west-southwest of Santa Cruz Island, just after 12pm.

Authorities say two people were killed at Nela village, one in Luova village, a child in Bimbir village, one at Venga village, one dead and three still missing at Malo village.

Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment Chanel Iroi confirmed the casualties, but added the death could rise.

He said lack of communication to other parts of the province have made it impossible to get actual assessments.

But he said an assessment team will be dispatch to the province soon.

Mr Iroi said the five villages were badly damaged by the tsunami with shelters no longer standing and people escaped to higher ground for safety.

“The Lata airport has also been swept over by waves and reports have indicated that there’s lots of debris including logs on the runway,” Mr Iroi said.

Reports said about 30 minutes after a Solomon Airlines aircraft left the airfield, the tsunami struck.

Mr Iroi said police officers at Lata and others have been called upon to clear the debris from the airport so the assessment team can land safely on ground by plane.

He said they were unable to get confirm reports from Temotu’s outer islands in the Reefs, Vanikoro, Utupua, and Tikopia.

Mr Iroi added Makira and Malaita provinces have reportedly experienced unusual rise of sea level but there were no reports of damages or casualties.

Police Commissioner John Lansley yesterday said his officers in Lata are helping our in assessing damages and evacuation in the nearby villages.

Mr Lansley said he will accompany the assessment team to Lata this morning.

Mr Iroi said that the assessment team is expected to be made up of a number of people from various specialist areas, including two doctors.

“Until the assessment team completes their findings on ground, there is no other information as yet but will give an update report as soon as they arrive there,” Mr Iroi said.

Fonte:http://www.solomonstarnews.com