Quake lifted Solomon island three metres;coral reefs doomed

Solomon island lifted three metres by quake
By Kathy Marks, Asia-Pacific Correspondent
Published: 09 April 2007
Independent UK

The earthquake that triggered last week's tsunami in the Solomons lifted an entire island by three metres, exposing coral reefs that are now dying.

The pristine underwater reefs of Ranongga Island, in the western Solomons, attracted divers from all over the world. But the quake has changed the island's geography, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter, who said the shoreline now extended out to sea by another 70 metres in places.

An 8.0 magnitude earthquake shook this pocket of the South Pacific last Monday, setting off tidal waves that destroyed houses in low-lying areas. Between 30 to 40 people were killed, according to varying estimates by government and international agencies.

The aid effort has been slow, hampered by bureaucracy and the remoteness of some of the islands. Rescue workers have yet to reach isolated Ranongga, but the AFP correspondent, who chartered a boat, reported that its fringing reefs have been transformed into a barren moonscape.

The stench of rotting fish stranded on the reefs when the ocean receded is said to be overpowering. The coral, once colourful and vibrant, has dried out, and is now brittle and crunching underfoot.

Local people are still struggling to digest the enormity of the changes wrought on their mountainous island, 20 miles long by five miles wide. On the east coast, most of the harbour at Pienuna has reportedly vanished, leaving only a narrow inlet lined by newly exposed jagged reefs.

One villager, Harison Gago, told AFP that Ranongga had been almost split in half by the earthquake, with cracks up to 50cm wide appearing.

Further north, at Niu Barae, a fisherman, Hendrik Kegala, said that the ocean floor had been rent by a massive chasm. Exploring with a snorkel, he had followed it for at least 500 metres, running parallel to the coast.

On the beach at Niu Barae, the quake has revealed a sunken vessel, which locals believe is a Japanese patrol boat from the Second World War. The Solomons were the scene of fierce fighting between Allied and Japanese forces.

The coral reefs of the western Solomons, including Ranongga's, were ranked among the best in the world, according to Danny Kennedy, a dive operator based on Ghizo, the main island. He said the most beautiful corals were also the most delicate, and they had suffered the worst destruction.

Mr Kennedy predicted that the tourism industry could be seriously affected. "Diving is huge here, it employs so many local people," he told AFP. "The fear is that people are going to come here and see the reefs are damaged, then tell people not to come for a few years until they are recovered."

The fish that swam among the coral were also the islanders' main source of protein. "The whole food chain has been disrupted," said Jackie Thomas, acting manager for Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the Solomons. "Villagers will have to travel further to find the same food and nutrition they've relied on."

Ms Thomas said the reefs around Ranongga were a protected environment, and the locals had worked with WWF in recent years to manage them sustainably. "Now it's another marine environment that has been destroyed," she said.

An estimated 7,000 people were made homeless by the disaster, and many remain in the hills above their ruined villages, afraid to return to lower ground. Aid agencies fear that the death toll may rise because of disease spreading through squalid refugee camps.

The International Red Cross is delivering latrines and water purifiers, along with food, shelter and medical supplies. Boats and helicopters are being used to reach remote islands.

Some refugees descended from the hills yesterday to celebrate Easter. About 100 worshippers said prayers for the dead and sang hymns in a simple Anglican church outside the main town of Gizo.