Aid effort gears up for Solomons

Officials hope aid to Gizo town will improve soon

International aid has slowly begun to arrive in the Solomon Islands after it was hit by a tsunami earlier this week.

Police say at least 30 people were killed when a magnitude 8.0 earthquake sent giant waves crashing into remote parts of the South Pacific archipelago.

Many islanders are still camped on hillsides with little food or water, and officials warn of dire consequences if more supplies do not come soon.

The disaster's scale is not yet clear as some areas have not been reached.

No-one knows how many people have died or are missing as rescue workers have still to reach some outlying villages, says the BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney.

One official said the destruction was "massive and widespread".

Bodies have been seen floating in the sea by authorities conducting aerial surveys of the devastated area.

Up to 5,400 people are homeless and in urgent need of food, water and shelter, but it could take until Friday to reach them, government spokesman George Herming is quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

The first of several medical teams is being flown into the region. Australia, the US and the International Red Cross have also offered to help.

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Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson, who was inspecting army reservists who are being sent to the islands, said the Solomons would receive all the help they needed:

"It seems at the moment that supplies are required and we will fly those out: these are medical, food, water, and other forms of necessary supplies and equipment to support the Solomon Islanders. We will transport them by C-130 Hercules and we will expect that they will leave Australia over the next 24 hours."

A New Zealand transport aircraft is delivering 1,000 tents and tarpaulins, as well as water supplies, to the island of Munda.

Aid to the town of Gizo, which was badly hit by waves several metres high, should improve once its airport is cleared of debris, which should happen soon, our correspondent says.

Solomons officials have also asked Australia and New Zealand for two mobile hospitals as the hospitals at Gizo and Munda had been wrecked.

Warning debate

The undersea quake struck at 0740 local time on Monday (2040 GMT Sunday), and was followed by a tsunami which sent waves several metres high sweeping through western fringes of the archipelago.

Some of the thousands camped on a hill behind Gizo town are returning to their homes, but others are remaining, fearful of more aftershocks.

Disaster relief official Julian Makaa put the number of homes destroyed at 900.

The tsunami has rekindled the debate about warning systems.

Some experts said they were of little use if the affected areas were so close, as with Monday's quake.

But UN special coordinator for the early warning system in Indonesia, Michael Rottmann, said even a warning of 10 minutes could save "a lot of lives".