Friday, December 27, 2013

Lomlom airport

From Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp. Minister Folatalu told Parliament, Lomlom Airport has been completed and is proposed to be officially opened in January 2014.

In June 2013 from the Solomon Star:
New airport: Lomlom, in Temotu province, one of the Reef Islands.
solomonstarnews.com/news/national/18109-pm-to-open-new-airports

See also (translate from Italian): http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomlom

Still no sign yet of FlySolomons flights to there.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Under-water mineral exploration

ABC Background Briefing Program - DEEP SEA MINING
Reporter: Ann Arnold
A project to dig minerals from the sea bed off Papua New Guinea could signal a new era of mining in the world’s most remote and least understood environment, the deep sea.

Mining companies are excited, ecologists are worried, and struggling island nations are watching with interest.
See ABC - October 2013
abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/2013-10

Back in December 2012 the Solomons Islands deputy prime minister Manasseh Maelanga has appealed to resource owners not to support under-water mineral exploration.
Radio New Zealand International
rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=72908 and
Solomon Star News
solomonstarnews.com/news/national/16710-be-wary-of-under-water-exploration-maelanga

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Overview of the shakey isle Ndendo

A devastating earthquake and tsunami struck the province in February 2013, killing nine people and causing widespread destruction to villages and homes on the west coast near Lata.

From the site:
earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map
Between 3rd and 8th February there have been 155 shocks greater than 4.6 from this area:

This area is defined by Latitude 10.718 S to 10.852 S and Longitude 164.228 E to 166.784 E.
    Magnitude:
  • One that caused the tsunami (8)
  • Three shocks 7 to <8
  • Seven shocks 6 to <7
  • Ninety shocks 5 to <6

Details with links in spreadsheet form:
winhelp.com.au/ourworld/temotu/shocks13.xls

Ndendo is a mostly a rocky outcrop with thin soils so it should have few problems with soil liquefaction. This problem comes with lots and lots of aftershocks and is at its worst on floodplains like the area around Christchurch. But people in Temotu Province should still be very careful around places known to have deep soil. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_liquefaction

Nela Village reported as wrecked

Reports on the Tsunami in Temotu Province (Solomon Islands) in the Solomon Star newspaper say "95 per cent of homes in Nela village were washed away."

solomonstarnews.com/news/national/17108-help-on-the-way

Unfortunately this house with all these happy kids in 2012, is very close to the beach and would have been the first to go:

Our thoughts go to the kids, their parents and the rest of the village at this difficult time.

Sipuru Rove of the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) told the Solomon Star "an estimated 3,000 people were homeless"

Red Cross disaster manager Cameron Vudi said
"There are still reports coming in. Most of the reports are confined to areas that are accessible by road but there are a lot more communities that have been damaged."

Nela is close to Lata, almost a suburb and easily accessible by road.


Relief web reliefweb.int/country/slb
Relief web have an assessment that looks like the places affected were all on the west coast of the island.

Message from Ben Hepworth on Pidgeon Island (9 Feb13 8:30 AEDST)

"..thought I would let you know that Reef Islands and Carlyle Bay are fine despite the tsunami."

In another article in the Solomon Star:
Temotu Provincial Disaster Management Office spokesman Frank Menoya said search for missing people in affected areas are still continuing. solomonstarnews.com/news/national/17109-1million-for-relief-supplies

I expect that the Solomon Star will be the best source for future stories as the big international news organisations move on.

Radio NZ comes a close second:
rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=73892
The premier of Temotu province says 3,100 people are now without shelter as they brave continuing shakes after Friday morning’s shallow aftershock.
Father Charles Brown Beu says people fled again to higher ground after the 6.7 quake, the largest following Wednesday’s 8.0 earthquakes and subsequent tsunami.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, says the remoteness of the area means it may take some time to gain a full picture of the extent of the damage.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Tsunami Lata Wharf 3feet

Tsunami LATA WHARF 3feet 18min after earthquake.

All this shows how powerful a metre (or a half) of tsunami wave can be.
ptwc.weather.gov/ptwc/?region=1&id=pacific.TSUPAC.2013.02.06.0347

News reports say 5 are dead and a hundred houses destroyed.
Radio NZ reports that a surge wave affected three or four villages. Luke Taula, a fisheries officer in Lata, told the ABC the tsunami arrived in small tidal surges rather than as one large wave.
"We have small waves come in, then go out again, then come back in. The waves reached the airport terminal," he said. He said the worst damage would be to villages on the western side of a point that protects the main township.
radionz.co.nz/news/world/127416/

The coast affected includes the airport in this picture:
The village of Nela, see William Membuta, our thoughts go to you, your family and village at this time.

Watching on YouTube
No mention in any news reports that the local hospital in Lata already has too few doctors.
Few mentions of damage to Lata airport or the extent of that damage. The coast to the west of the airport would also have houses damaged if the airport had problems. The main town of Lata is up a hill, the harbour is on the other side from the brunt of the tsunami and recorded .9M rise.

youtube.com/results?search_query=tsunami+solomon+islands&oq=tsunami

Note: this YouTube video is a fake:
youtu.be/_oBr7fOT_pk
Definite tsumani wave but I am calling it a fake. Way too much infrastructure for Lata on Ndendo in Temotu province, Solomon Islands. No reports of it hitting anywhere with a coastline like this.

Disclaimer

There are a lot of things that can go wrong travelling, there are more things that can go wrong travelling to surf.
Feel free to contact the contributors for more information before setting out to do a trip to here or similar areas. Get information and remember that you, and only you, are responsible for what happens to you.

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