Magnitude 8.0 Earthquake in the Solomon Islands: Rescue and relief operations are underway

The Solomon Islands are composed of more than 100,000 islands, located in the South Pacific and east of Papua New Guinea, its nearest neighbor. It is a self-governing constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. On February 6, 2013, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in the Solomon Islands that occurred 300 kilometers east of the island of Santa Cruz (also called Temotu province) caused two 5-foot high tsunami waves to swamp the western section of the province. Five villages in the remote area of Santa Cruz, which is three hours away by plane from the capital, Honiara, were affected by the tsunami, with the water surging inward for about half a kilometer.

The airstrip in Lata had been damaged which delayed flights to the tsunami-affected province. It is being repaired at the moment and scheduled flights for relief operations will take off as soon as repairs are done. The number of casualties and the extent of the damage are still undetermined because most of the areas are still flooded and reaching the remote villages is very difficult. What authorities are concerned about is the spread of diseases. The islands are still experiencing several aftershocks.

Relief operations, spearheaded by neighboring Australia and World Vision are underway, though they are hindered by the physical remoteness of the affected areas. The flooded airstrip in Santa Cruz Island that is still being cleared of debris also hampers relief operations at the moment, according to the Red Cross. Reconnaissance flights are scheduled to assess the damage. A patrol boat will be deployed on Thursday, February 7 to bring emergency supplies to the remote villages. It is expected to reach the affected area by the weekend. World Vision also said that the agency will try to reach these remote areas by boat to bring supplies and help in assessing the situation in five villages affected.

Tsunamis did not only occur in the Solomons. Smaller ones also occurred in other surrounding islands. Papua New Guinea and Japan were hit by a small wave. New Caledonia had a tsunami that’s about 50 centimeters high according to reports, while Vanuatu was hit by an 11-centimeter wave. Lata, which is also in Temotu, was hit by a tsunami that was 90 centimeters high.

Tsunami warnings were issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii to several countries in the Pacific, including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, which was canceled later when the relevant data were assessed. The earthquake occurred near Temotu Province, 17.8 miles deep in the ocean.