Solomon Island Earthquake!!!

BBC World has just reported an Earthquake in the Solomon Islands!

Excuse me for being vague...but was distracted from the TV report but
thought I heard that it was high on the Richter scale.

Now, I was once in New Caledonia, heading for Port Villa when I was
informed that there had been an Earthquake high on the Richter
scale...but when I got to the Island of Espiritu Santo...to dive the
Colledge, the people at the hotel said that the Earthquake was very deep
beneath the Earth's crust and didn't cause too much damage locally, but
the dive master (Alan Power) said that we could not go to some parts of
the shipwreck (boiler room) because the Earthquake had shaken loose a
lot of rust and impaired the vis....so on that trip, we didn't go to the
boiler room and out through the smoke stacak(just like the Poseiden
Adventure movie).

So, as to what damage there is in the Solomon Islands--we'll have to
see.

But hey folks...when you travel out to the Solomons or Vanautu, you're
into the Pacific "ring of fire." And Vanuatu is known as the islands of
coral and ashes (volcanoes --they've got several smoking ones).

Daniel Kessler wrote:
> BBC World has just reported an Earthquake in the Solomon Islands!
>
> Excuse me for being vague...but was distracted from the TV report but
> thought I heard that it was high on the Richter scale.
>
> Now, I was once in New Caledonia, heading for Port Villa when I was
> informed that there had been an Earthquake high on the Richter
> scale...but when I got to the Island of Espiritu Santo...to dive the
> Colledge, the people at the hotel said that the Earthquake was very deep
> beneath the Earth's crust and didn't cause too much damage locally, but
> the dive master (Alan Power) said that we could not go to some parts of
> the shipwreck (boiler room) because the Earthquake had shaken loose a
> lot of rust and impaired the vis....so on that trip, we didn't go to the
> boiler room and out through the smoke stacak(just like the Poseiden
> Adventure movie).
>
> So, as to what damage there is in the Solomon Islands--we'll have to
> see.
>
> But hey folks...when you travel out to the Solomons or Vanautu, you're
> into the Pacific "ring of fire." And Vanuatu is known as the islands of
> coral and ashes (volcanoes --they've got several smoking ones).
>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/6516759.stm

Offshore Earthquake of 8.0 on Richter scale according to report with the
resulting Tsunami hitting the Solomon Islands at around 0740 local time
Sunday.

Jon


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This is a big one! It even had people in far away Cairns, where the tremors
were felt --running for the hills!!!

Most directly hit, was the island of Ghizo where 30 ft. (10 meter) waves
crashed into the town. I wonder what happened to the hotel I had stayed in
there (A/C in every room), and the restaurant further up from there (a
10-minute walk) that was out off a dock! Would you believe, a three course
dinner was had nightly for about $8.00 (U.S. currency).

And there was an American couple who used to run a dive operation there -- are
they still there?

Reports are that many people drowned and many still missing at Ghizo,
according to this morning's BBC-TV World.

Not too far out off the island of Ghizo-- in shallow water -- was a veritable
small forest of spectacular green elephant ears-- never seen anything as
enticing as that! I hope they didn't get damaged!

I wonder how it affected Upi (closer in towards Honiara, on Guadacanal)...and
Munda -- even closer to Ghizo!.

I'm wondering if the tsunami also hit Munda badly --where I once visited and
recall diving that long tunnel that one entered into what looked like a deep
well inside some mangroves...(on land) and then after dropping about 25
vertical feet, opened into a long chamber that led out into the open sea on
the other side of the reef. That dive was a bit of a nail-biter, but kind of
fun in retrospect.

I'm wondering that in recent years --with the fighting between locals and the
intervention of Australian troups must have killed off the dive-touring
industry in the Solomons. I even wonder if diving operations at Upi, Munda,
and Ghizo are still in business?

Thank God I was able to clock in four trips to the Solomons -- including a
live-aboard over around the "Florida group." I thought that the u/w flora in
places in the Solomons was almost a "step-up" from what I had experienced in
Fiji (13 diving trips--including three different live-abords)...

Also, I recall that the diving in the Solomon Islands was quite good in some
locations-- less so in others to the point if anyone still thinks that there
are still some "undiscovered" glories in the u/w world in the Solomons to
discover -- they are probably wrong! But, as I say, there is still some great
diving there, and well worth the trip --but not on a level of the best you can
find in Papua New Guinea, which is definitely a big step-up from what one
finds in Fiji or the Solomons-- and as for Vanuatu --no where near the
diversity of coral.

Another fine memory of Honiara-- having delicious mud crab at a local Chinese
restaurant...I understood that the mud crab was "imported" from a larger
island in the Solomon chain-- Maliata-- where they were raised in pens. Mud
crab was nearly always on the menu! I understand that mud crab exists
throughout the region -- including Fiji--but in the wild -- they are very
reclusive and only naturally plentiful around Christmas time-- I was told (in
Fiji).

I suppose I shouldn't be talking about my memories of the Solomon Island and
think more of the suffering of the Solomon Islands people for whom I have
great sympathy -- they've suffered so much from things like "black-birding"
(slavery) and other horrors as well as large-scale unemployment that has led
to the violence there between the native ethnic groups. And in Honiara
(Guadacanal), you have the detritus left over from WWII unexploded munitions
that is still laying about (never fully cleaned-up).

I do hope the world community will rush in to help the Solomon Islanders in
time of dire need.

On Apr 2, 6:47 pm, Daniel Kessler <dkess...@pop.cybernex.net> wrote:

> Oh, you're just jealous because you've never chanced upon a field of green
> elephant ears!

You're just jealous because you've never lived through a tsunami.

Greg...I'm afraid your posts are getting more wackier and wackier which suggests
that at some point -- your brain was deprived of oxygen for an extended
period...suggesting that you were overcome with the "rapture of the deep" on one
of your last dives?

Have you been naughty in that respect?

Did the divemaster chew out your ass?

Who, in their right mind--would want to live through a tsunami?

Greg Mossman wrote:

> On Apr 2, 6:47 pm, Daniel Kessler <dkess...@pop.cybernex.net> wrote:
>
> > Oh, you're just jealous because you've never chanced upon a field of green
> > elephant ears!
>
> You're just jealous because you've never lived through a tsunami.

"Daniel Kessler" <dkessler@pop.cybernex.net> wrote in message
news:461238FD.E21EBCC6@pop.cybernex.net...
> Greg...I'm afraid your posts are getting more wackier and wackier which
> suggests
> that at some point -- your brain was deprived of oxygen for an extended
> period...suggesting that you were overcome with the "rapture of the deep"
> on one
> of your last dives?
>
> Have you been naughty in that respect?
>
> Did the divemaster chew out your ass?
>
> Who, in their right mind--would want to live through a tsunami?

What, as opposed to -not- living through it?

FYI, Greg's statement, of his experience at least, is factually correct.

Not -a- tsunami, -the- tsunami.

I'll tell you something else, I find verrrrrry suspicious.

After he survived the first one, IIRC, another major one hit some place he
just left hours before (memory fleets the locale).

Now one hits where he was just -arguing- with some guys on the net.

I'm not sure what that implies, actually, but, I'd stay on his good side,
at least, if he knows where you live.

> Greg Mossman wrote:
>
>> On Apr 2, 6:47 pm, Daniel Kessler <dkess...@pop.cybernex.net> wrote:
>>
>> > Oh, you're just jealous because you've never chanced upon a field of
>> > green
>> > elephant ears!
>>
>> You're just jealous because you've never lived through a tsunami.

Douglas W Popeye Frederick wrote

> I'll tell you something else, I find verrrrrry suspicious.
> After he survived the first one, IIRC, another major one hit some place
> he just left hours before (memory fleets the locale).
> Now one hits where he was just -arguing- with some guys on the net.
> I'm not sure what that implies, actually, but, I'd stay on his good side,
> at least, if he knows where you live.

Sounds like good advice. There's been at least one other Jewish person that
was able to part the waters.

Lee

On Apr 4, 2:25 am, "Lee Bell" <pleeb...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Douglas W Popeye Frederick wrote
>
> > I'll tell you something else, I find verrrrrry suspicious.
> > After he survived the first one, IIRC, another major one hit some place
> > he just left hours before (memory fleets the locale).
> > Now one hits where he was just -arguing- with some guys on the net.
> > I'm not sure what that implies, actually, but, I'd stay on his good side,
> > at least, if he knows where you live.
>
> Sounds like good advice. There's been at least one other Jewish person that
> was able to part the waters.

No wonder why there's a plague of mosquitos whenever I travel to the
tropics. I also enjoy laying down the law, detest idolators, and
hallucinated a lot in my youth (the latter probably due more to
certain drugs than to burning bushes, but who knows?).

Perhaps I should change my last name by inserting an 'e' as the third
letter.

On Wed, 04 Apr 2007 05:21:42 -0400, Lee Bell wrote:

> Daniel Kessler wrote
>
>> Who, in their right mind--would want to live through a tsunami?
>
> Beats the hell out of not living through one.

That could depend on your condition. It could be exciting, but no one is
accusing me of being in my right mind. I have been accused of being left
minded however.