Two earthquakes measuring between 7.6 and 9 on the Richter scale triggered a tsunami Monday some 30 feet high that completely flooded the towns of Gizo and Noro in the Western Province of the country.
Alex Lokopio, the prime minister of the Western Province, said the number of victims was likely to increase, considering the number of people missing and the large area that remained to be searched.
Original government estimates said the flood affected 25% of the Western Province, which consists of a few hundred islands with a population of 90,000.
Officials of the country said tents had been provided to accommodate all those left without homes, but that water supplies remained a major problem because wells had been contaminated with seawater.
The Solomon Star newspaper said many people were already starving, and intestinal diseases have begun spreading in the camps.
With a population of about 550,000, the island group is a popular venue with tourists, and local residents rely mainly on fishing and tourism for income.
The most powerful and disastrous calamity involving a tsunami over the last 40 years occurred in December 2004, when an earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter scale in the Indian Ocean generated a tsunami wave that hit South Asian countries, particularly Indonesia, killing more than 280,000 people. Tens of thousands were reported missing.
