First aid teams arrive at tsunami-hit area of Solomon Islands
3/4/2007 17:01
A police patrol boat carrying the first aid teams, food and emergency
supplies has arrived in the hardest hit area by yesterday's powerful earthquake
and tsunami in the Solomon Islands.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
radio reported Tuesday that flattened buildings and debris-strewn streets have
greeted the aid teams who arrived in Gizo, capital of the remote Western
Province.
The magnitude 8.1 earthquake and the following tsunami have left at
least 20 people dead and thousands homeless in the Solomon Islands. Five are
feared dead in neighboring Papua New Guinea.
Shops, schools and a hospital
are reported to have been damaged on Gizo's low-lying waterfront, and residents
said dozens of houses were literally sucked into the sea.
Solomon Islands
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has declared the area an official disaster
zone, and has praised the efforts of relief workers.
"Right now the most
urgent need is food, shelter and medicine," he was quoted as
saying.
Emergency teams have begun restoring communications to the remote
islands, while more Solomons boats and a support ship from the Regional
Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands are en route with urgently needed
supplies.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced yesterday
the Australian government has made an initial offer of up to 2 million
Australian dollars (US$1.6 million) in emergency and reconstruction assistance
to the Solomon Islands government.
Xinhua
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