NZ keen to help after quakes

The New Zealand Government is waiting on the Solomon Islands to assess the impact of a series of strong earthquakes that rocked its remote western islands before responding with aid, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said.

More than 1000 people have been affected after about 200 houses were destroyed on Rendova, an island about 300km from the capital, Honiara.

The Solomon Islanders were still taking stock of what happened, Mr McCully said.

"We're obviously certainly watching it and ready to assist if we're asked, but they need to make an assessment first.

"We will wait for them to make a request for assistance, then we would look at what we can do."

New Zealand branches of World Vision and Save the Children are in the disaster-hit islands, working with local emergency response organisations to assess the extent of damage and to provide shelter, food, fresh water and healthcare to those who need it.

The homes of about a third of Rendova's inhabitants were destroyed by mudslides and tsunami, though the residents themselves escaping injury by quickly fleeing to higher ground.

No casualties were reported from the quakes or their aftermath.

From the air, extensive damage could be seen after a 7.2-magnitude quake triggered the landslides on Monday, said disaster management office director Loti Yates.

The biggest in a series of quakes also churned a tsunami wave up to 3m high as it hit the coast.

Residents' memories of earlier disasters probably helped prevent any casualties, locals said.

Since the first big quake at least a dozen aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.0 have rocked the earthquake-prone region. The strongest, a magnitude 6.9, hit the western region late on Tuesday and generated a tsunami a few centimetres high, but there were no reports of fresh damage or injury.

In April 2007, an 8.1 earthquake unleashed a tsunami that killed more than 50 people. A quake-churned tsunami that killed more than 200 on nearby Samoa and Tonga in September was another reminder, locals said.

- NZPA