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29 March 2024

Solomons quake leaves 1,000 homeless

In this image provided by the police, a man stands near a damaged hut on the island of Rendova, Solomon Islands following an earthquake. (AP)

Published
By AP

Landslides and a tsunami unleashed by a major earthquake have destroyed 200 houses on one Solomon island, leaving 1,000 people homeless.

Visual assessments from the air showed extensive damage on a remote western island after a 7.2-magnitude temblor struck near the Pacific Solomon Islands on Monday, said disaster management office director Loti Yates.

But no injuries have been reported 30 hours after the biggest in a series of quakes churned a tsunami wave that was one storey high as it plowed into the coast.

Photographs taken from police helicopters yesterday showed debris lining the foreshore and damaged houses on the coasts of Rendova and Tetepare, as well as deep scars on hills and cliffs caused by landslides.

Only 3,600 people live on Rendova about 300km from the capital, Honiara.

 

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