A 6.2-magnitude earthquake yesterday violently shook areas of the Solomons Islands that were devastated by an 8.1-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami that killed at least 30 people.
The latest quake came at 5:34pm just hours after a 6-magnitude aftershock rattled the same area of the western provinces of the disaster-struck archipelago and terrified its residents.
The shattered coastal town of Gizo, where more than 2,000 people are sleeping out after Monday's catastrophe, was subjected to sustained shaking lasting for at least 30 seconds, an Agence France Presse correspondent said.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck just 53km northwest of Gizo, which lies just 45km away from the epicenter of Monday's huge quake.
The area has been shaken by repeated aftershocks measuring up to 6.7 for the past two days, including a shallow 6-magnitude quake that hit 139km northwest of Gizo at 11:39am, the US Geological Survey said.
Meanwhile, relief workers yesterday reported the first signs of disease among survivors of Monday's earthquake and tsunami, as damaged airports caused a bottleneck in the flow of badly needed water, food and medicine.
Some children in makeshift camps that have sprung up in hills behind towns hit by the disaster have diarrhea, and the need for fresh drinking water is becoming urgent, the Red Cross said.
Red Cross official Nancy Jolo said her agency had handed out all the emergency supplies it had stored in Gizo, the main town in the disaster zone, and was waiting for new supplies from a New Zealand military transport plane that landed late on Tuesday in nearby Munda.
"The priority need right now is for water," Jolo told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio from Gizo. "What we are experiencing right now in some of the campsites is children starting to experience diarrhea."
International aid was trickling in to the hardest-hit Western Province yesterday. But many of the thousands left homeless faced a third day of scrounging for basic supplies in the rubble, where bodies were still being found under buildings knocked down by the quake and sludge deposited by the tsunami.
Devastation was widespread in Gizo and surrounding coastal villages built on stilts, many of which remained cut off.
One police patrol boat arrived in Gizo on Tuesday after traveling 10 hours from the capital, Honiara, with tents, tarps, food and water. Three other boats were to leave Honiara yesterday for Munda, a nearby town that is becoming a main relief coordination point, chief government spokesman Alfred Maesulia said.
But Gizo's airport remained closed, and helicopters or a boat journey of several hours were the only ways to get emergency supplies to the town.
Many canoes and other boats were sunk or washed away by the tsunami and fuel was contaminated with sea water, adding to the transport woes, Western Province Premier Alex Lokopio said.
Local officials said up to 5,000 people were encamped in hills behind Gizo with little water, food, or shelter, though the Red Cross put the number of homeless at around 2,000.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was