Child dies in Bougainville shake

Two strong earthquakes on Friday night in Bougainville claimed the life of a young child as houses collapsed in the southern provinces.

A resident, Lawrence Daveona, says people were running to the hills in fear of a tsunami, but there has been no warning issued and no reports of any tsunami since the 7.3 quake, which was followed by a 6.8 quake.

The Acting Deputy Administrator of Operations for the Autonomous Bougainville Government, Herbert Kimai, says he is still waiting for reports from Torokina and Sewai but says a four-year-old child died in Buin after a house collapsed in Maluata village.

He says other houses collapsed in Ugukau village, and the quakes were also felt as far north as Buka.

“Here in Buka, you know the houses were swaying and floating, it lasted for a few minutes, I think less than two minutes, but that’s Buka, and in Buin it actually knocked down the houses and of course caused the death of the four-year-old child. He was pronounced dead at the Buin Health Centre last night.”

Kimai says he feared the heavy rains that have caused flooding in the Solomons are headed towards Bougainville.