KEY POINTS:
A New Zealand man made a desperate bid to save his parents from a collapsing building as the magnitude 8 earthquake rocked the Solomons Islands on Monday.
But as Teangauki Toma forced his way inside the building a tsunami powered over the house in the Western Province island
of Gizo, killing him.
Mr Toma's mother also died and her body is yet to be found.
His father is understood to have survived, but his condition in hospital is not known.
Mr Toma was a father of eight and grandfather of five. The 53-year-old had lived in Porirua for the past 34 years and worked as a Corrections officer.
"Family was everything to Dad," his daughter, Juliette Launiuvao of Wellington, told the Herald yesterday.
"If his family needed him he would have done everything he could. It gives us a bit of solace to know that."
Mr Toma is among 28 people, including a bishop and three worshippers at a church, killed in the Solomons disaster.
Five unconfirmed deaths were reported in neighbouring Papua New Guinea.
Mr Toma is the only New Zealander to have died. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said yesterday four others who had been unaccounted for were safe.
Spokeswoman Helen Tunnah said the four were either not in the area at the time or had contacted authorities.
Ms Launiuvao, the oldest of Mr Toma's children, said: "It's something you never imagine will happen to you.
"We are all in a state of disbelief. Mum is being strong but she is in shock. Now we just want to get him back."
Mr Toma's body is with authorities and an aunt will travel from the capital, Honiara, to Gizo today to bring him home to New Zealand.
The National Disaster Management Office said last night that almost 1000 houses had been destroyed and 5500 people displaced, with 13 villages in the Western Province destroyed.
A spokeswoman warned: "Assessment is still continuing, so we are expecting these figures to rise during the course of the day."
Efforts to get to survivors have been hampered by more tremors, scaring some who have stayed in the hills for fear of another tsunami.
Private and government aid agencies sent planes and helicopters to assess the stricken areas yesterday.
Reports last night suggested widespread damage to towns and villages on islands close to the earthquake's epicentre.
New Zealand's High Commissioner in the Solomons, Deborah Panckhurst, said because the areas hit by the tsunami were so remote the extent of the damage and the death toll were still unknown.
Initial reports were that some places "looked very nasty from the air".
Ms Panckhurst said the high commission's aid manager, Guy Redding, had flown over the area and reported that it looked as though some villages had been pretty much wiped out.
The number of people who had lost their homes was expected to grow when the assessment had been done.
The New Zealand Government announced yesterday a $500,000 aid package and the Cabinet will meet today to discuss other measures.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the situation was grave, with thousands of Solomon Islanders requiring urgent assistance.
"The immediate focus is on saving lives and getting out to remote communities to assess the extent of the damage."
An Air Force Hercules left New Zealand yesterday morning carrying troops to the Solomons and was hurriedly filled with supplies including water containers, tarpaulins and food packages.
The United Nations has a humanitarian team ready to go to the Solomons and the Australian Government and the Red Cross have also said they will help.
