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Tidal waves leave many homeless
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Posted on Nov 30 2000
Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea Post-Courier/PINA Nius Online) – More than 1000 people in several villages in New Ireland hit by the recent earthquakes and tidal waves are homeless and need shelter urgently.
Government officers last week visited the affected areas on the west coast of Namatanai and confirmed that widespread destruction to homes was caused by the earthquakes and subsequent tidal waves.
Two villages Lamassa and Tampakar – were the worst affected. One hundred homes and a church were washed away by tidal waves at Lamassa and 62 homes flattened by earthquakes at Tampakar. The number of people affected in these two villages alone was more than 1000.
Other villages from Kalil to Lambom on the west coast and Silur on the east coast, lost between two to five houses including classrooms and teachers houses. At Lamassa the people had moved into the community school classrooms, while in Tampakar the people, who are mainly settlers on an agriculture lease, are living in makeshift shelters.
Tidal waves also swept through Natur, Malumpiran and Bakok villages.
Hitung Community School had been turned into a care center for people from the Kamdaru area where more homes were flattened by earthquakes.
At the mouth of the Kamdaru River, eyewitnesses confirmed that a sandbank about 1km long and about 50-60m wide sank to about 30-40m into the sea.
Seventh Day Adventist church followers, who were preparing for a camp at the mouth of the river when the earthquakes struck, told of a big bang with a great force then a swing right and left and wave-like movement of the ground before they saw water souring into the air to about 200m high before the sandbank disappeared under water.
This reporter traveled by dinghy along where the sand bank once was and was shown how long and wide it had sunk.
Along the Weitin Valley, trees were uprooted and numerous landslides occurred. Landslides also had occurred on mountains along the coast from Kait to Lamassa. The coastline from Kamadaru to Tamapakar had risen by about 2-3m.
The village on Lambon Island was in imminent danger of being washed away by rising sea level. Large cracks about 4m wide and 7m deep in some areas appeared all around the school ground.
