The 8.0 magnitude undersea earthquake sparked a tsunami warning for several Pacific island nations but appears to have had the biggest impact around the Santa Cruz region in Solomon Islands.
The acting Permanent Secretary for National Disaster, Channel Iroi, confirmed the deaths were from Nela, Luova, Bimbir,Venga and Malo villages on Santa Cruz.
He told the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) that a number of people were also reported missing in affected villages.
Meanwhile, disaster officials expected the focus of their response to the tsunami would primarily be in the Temotu province in the southern part of the country.
Police Commander John Lansley said that because the area was quite isolated it could take a couple of days before the police fully understood the extent of the damage.
“It is a significant distance from where the resources are kept, we do have preparatory resources already on the islands because this type of situation has been predicted as a possibility in the past but the major response will take some time.”
John Lansley said members of the Regional Assistance Mission RAMSI were tying to assess affected regions by air.
Other reports
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