Tsunami hits the Solomon Islands : TSF deployed from its Asia-Pacific base at AIT
A crew of specialists in emergency telecommunications took off on 3 April 2007 from Télécoms Sans Frontières' Asia and Pacific base situated on the campus of AIT to strengthen the coordination of relief teams supporting tsunami affected population in the Solomon Islands .
Following the tsunami provoked by an earthquake measured 8.0 on the Richter scale with its epicenter situated 350km North West of Honiara, capital of Solomons, the archipelago's government declared state of emergency on
Monday evening. A tsunami alert was sent to many regions of the Pacific short after the quake.
Communications have been disrupted in several affected zones and upon arrival TSF will immediately put satellite communications equipment available in order to facilitate the first assessments and ensure reliable communication between the field and organizations head offices.
According to the latest official report, which is still temporary notably due to telecommunications problems, the tsunami killed 28 people and left nearly 6 000 homeless.
TSF is ready to deploy more crews from France depending on the needs of rescue teams and of affected civilians.