8.0 magnitude earthquake shakes Santa Cruz Islands: 9 reportedly killed

February 6, 2013 – SOLOMON ISLANDS – Several people were killed when tsunami waves generated by a major earthquake slammed into the Solomon Islands, damaging villages, as warnings were triggered across the Pacific. At least five people died after the 8.0 magnitude quake struck near the remote Santa Cruz Islands in the Solomons at a depth of 28.7km. Two powerful aftershocks of 6.4 and 6.6 magnitude were also recorded. “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,” said Chris Rogers, a registered nurse at Lata Hospital in the Santa Cruz Islands. Local officials reported two 1.5-metre waves hit the western side of Santa Cruz Island, damaging between 60 and 70 homes in at least four villages, said George Herming, a spokesman for the prime minister. “At this stage, authorities are still trying to establish the exact number and extent of damage. Communication to Santa Cruz Island is difficult due to the remoteness of the island,” he said. It was not immediately apparent whether all the victims died in the tsunami. Two of the four villages on Santa Cruz suffered severe damage, said Solomon Islands Police Commissioner John Lansley. Other areas of the Solomons did not appear to have been seriously affected. Solomon Islands Red Cross secretary general Joanne Zoleveke said she had been told at least three villages were hit. “In the Solomon Islands when we talk about villages there can be anything from 10 to 30 houses,” she said. “We have received a lot of information about houses washed away but we haven’t heard about any deaths as yet. That is what we are waiting for.” Earthquake monitoring agencies earlier said a wave measuring about a metre had been recorded at Lata on Santa Cruz, the main island in the eastern Temotu province, which has a population of about 10,000. Vanuatu and New Caledonia also reported rising sea levels, before a region-wide tsunami alert was lifted. Locals in the Solomons capital Honiara, 580 kilometres from the epicentre, said earlier the quake was not felt there but some villages had been destroyed, according to a hospital director. “The information we are getting is that some villages west and south of Lata along the coast have been destroyed, although we cannot confirm this yet,” the director at Lata Hospital said. Richard Dapo, a school principal on an island near Santa Cruz, said he lives inland but has been fielding calls from families on the coast whose homes have been damaged by the waves. “I try to tell the people living on the coastline, ‘Move inland, find a higher place. Make sure to keep away from the sea. Watch out for waves,”’ he said. He said he’d heard the waves had swamped some smaller islands, although he was not aware of any deaths or serious injuries at this point. He said it was difficult to contact people because cell phone coverage is patchy in the region. In the Solomons capital of Honiara, tsunami warnings prompted residents to flee for higher ground, while ships also moved to open water to avoid potential waves. “People are still standing on the hills outside of Honiara just looking out over the water, trying to observe if there is a wave coming in,” Mr Herming said earlier. The tsunami warnings prompted warnings in nations as far away as Fiji for residents to evacuate to higher ground. Sirens were heard in Fiji while the alert remained in place, locals said. “Chaos in the streets of Suva as everyone tries to avoid the tsunami!!” tweeted Ratu Nemani Tebana from the Fiji capital Suva. The tsunami warning was initially issued for the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, and Wallis and Futuna. New Zealand was also on guard but monitors said there was no threat to Australia. The tsunami warnings were later cancelled. –Australian

contribution Emanni