Scramble to reach tsunami-hit villages in Solomons

SOLOMON ISLANDS :Disaster relief agencies were scrambling Thursday to reach tsunami-hit villages in the Solomon Islands, warning the death toll following a powerful 8.0-magnitude quake is likely to rise.

Officials said six people were confirmed dead after Wednesday’s quake generated a wave that swamped coastal communities on the island of Ndende in the eastern Solomons amid fears of a more widespread destructive tsunami.

Aid agency World Vision said some houses in the town of Venga were shifted 10 metres (33 feet) by the force of the surging water and almost all the homes in Nela village were washed away.

“I’m currently walking through one community and I’m knee-deep in water,” World Vision emergency coordinator Jeremiah Tabua said.

“I can see a number of houses that have been swept away by the surge.”

The Solomon Islands Red Cross said the remoteness of the disaster zone, more than 600 kilometres (370 miles) from the capital Honiara, was hindering relief efforts, with the island’s airstrip closed because of debris on the runway.

Red Cross disaster manager Cameron Vudi said reconnaissance flights would be made over the island Thursday to assess the scale of the damage but initial reports indicated at least 460 homes had been destroyed.

He said the death toll was likely to rise as reports came in from isolated communities.

“We’re expecting changes. There are signs that there might be increases in the number of casualties,” he told.

AFP