The Wire

Several villages have been wiped out by the powerful earthquake and tsunami that hit the Solomon Islands west coast today. At this stage it is not known how widespread the destruction actually is, but it has been reported that potentially thousands of people have been affected by this natural disaster. There have also been unconfirmed reports of six deaths in the Solomon Islands town of Gizo. Closer to home, the tsunami warning spread as far as Australia’s east coast, with every beach in NSW being closed. Although the event created widespread publicity here, it has underscored how unprepared the South Pacific region is for extreme weather patterns, which are destine to become more frequent with climate change.