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Solomons tsunami aid stepped up Aid reaches tsunami-hit Solomons
(about 4 hours later)
Emergency aid supplies are being stepped up to thousands of people stranded a day after a devastating tsunami struck the Solomon Islands. Emergency aid is finally trickling through to thousands of people stranded by the devastating tsunami which struck the western Solomon Islands.
At least 20 people were killed and several thousand are homeless after the huge wave destroyed towns and villages. At least 22 people died in Monday's disaster but the toll is set to rise, as many others are still missing.
Helicopters have made the first drops of aid but food, shelter and medicines are all said to be in short supply. Thousands of residents of Gizo town are now homeless, and many of them are due to spend a second night sleeping in the open in hills behind the town.
A series of powerful aftershocks has further shaken the region, including two of magnitude 6.2. A series of aftershocks has shaken the isolated region still further.
Solomons deputy police commissioner Peter Marshall said he expected the number of dead would rise as the emergency services reached more remote locations. The 8.0-magnitude undersea quake struck at 0740 local time on Monday (2040 GMT Sunday), and was followed by a tsunami which brought huge waves crashing down on the coastline of this remote Pacific region.
"Today will be a telling day," he said. Hundreds of coastal homes, many made of palm and bamboo, did not stand a chance against the double onslaught.
Most of the known victims were in Gizo, a small fishing town and diving centre only 45km (25 miles) from the epicentre. We ran for our lives, away from the waves Arnold Pidakere,teacher, Gizo class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6518749.stm">'We are really scared' class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6517885.stm">Gizo at heart of fears class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5194316.stm">Animated guide: Tsunamis Most of the known victims were in Gizo, a small fishing town and diving centre only 45km (25 miles) from the epicentre of the quake.
A 53-year-old New Zealand man drowned trying to save his mother, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said. His mother was still missing. A 53-year-old New Zealand man is known to have drowned there while trying to save his mother, who is also assumed to have died in the disaster.
Many of the town's buildings and infrastructure have been destroyed.
"Gizo has to be rebuilt," Western Province Premier Alex Lokopio told Radio New Zealand.
Other outlying areas were also badly affected. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said aerial patrols had reported "massive and widespread" destruction.
A bishop and three worshippers were reportedly killed when a wave hit a church on the island of Simbo, and reports of deaths have also come in from several other areas.
The Papua New Guinea government is trying to confirm reports that a family of five in the country's south-eastern Milne Bay was killed in the tsunami.The Papua New Guinea government is trying to confirm reports that a family of five in the country's south-eastern Milne Bay was killed in the tsunami.
Solomons officials say 900 homes have been destroyed and 5,000 people affected, with many villages in parts of Western and Choiseul provinces wiped out. Aid arrivals
Helicopters on Monday made the first drops of tents and water to about 4,000 people who spent the night in the open in the hills, unwilling to return to their homes for fear of aftershocks. Solomons officials estimate that 5,000 people were affected by the disaster, and Mr Lokopio said people were in desperate need of water, food and tents.
Western Province Premier Alex Lokopio said people were in desperate need of more water, food and tents. Helicopters and a police patrol boat had made the first deliveries of aid by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, but far more is needed.
The UN says it has offered assistance to the government and Australia has pledged $1.6m in emergency aid. "Many water tanks have been damaged, and we also have a problem with food supplies. The gardens have been inundated, so there is a problem with fresh food," a spokeswoman for Australian aid agency Caritas told Australian radio.
We ran for our lives, away from the waves Arnold Pidakere,teacher, Gizo class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6518749.stm">'We are really scared' class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6517885.stm">Gizo at heart of fears class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5194316.stm">Animated guide: Tsunamis Deputy police commissioner Peter Marshall said officials would tolerate survivors taking goods they did not own until more supplies arrived.
More than 25 aftershocks hit the South Pacific islands on Tuesday, but there were no fears of another tsunami, officials said. "They are desperate times in Gizo," he told the Associated Press, "and we've got to be practical".
Australian quake expert Kevin McCue said the region had a history of double quakes and authorities should be on alert for another of up to magnitude 7.5. Many of the town's residents spent the night on nearby hills, sleeping in the open.
The undersea quake struck at 0740 local time on Monday (2040 GMT Sunday). "Basically everybody is still up on high ground because we are still receiving really quite major aftershocks," said Danny Kennedy, a local dive shop owner.
The Solomon Islands has a population of about 500,000 people - many of them living on remote and widely scattered islands in houses made of palm and bamboo. But there is hope that more aid will arrive in the region soon.
The Gizo airstrip is now usable after being cleared of debris, and Australian and New Zealand military helicopters based in the Solomons as part of a regional security force are set to join relief operations.
The UN says it has offered assistance to the government, and Australia has pledged $1.6m in emergency aid.