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AITAPE, Papua New Guinea - The wave higher than the coconut trees it crashed into swept away three villages on Papua New Guinea's northwest coast, turning flimsily built homes into matchsticks. The death toll by Sunday was at least 599. [More than 3,000 people have been officially killed by three tidal waves which destroyed villages on Papua New Guinea's remote northwest coast.]
Across the Sissano lagoon Sunday, the beaches where a number of villages used to be built were washed away, and the lagoon was filled with debris, coconut palms and the remains of houses.
The 23-foot wall of water known as a tsunami hit the southwest Pacific island nation without warning late Friday, [July 17, 1998], following a magnitude-7 earthquake about 18 miles off the coast.
The village of Arop was demolished, said resident Lusien Romme, whose wife was killed and his home destroyed.
"There was nothing left except for coconut trees," Romme, who broke two fingers and injured his ribs and shoulder, told Australian Associated Press by telephone Sunday from his bed at Aitape's Raihu Health Center. Romme said he saw "the sea rising up and coming toward me" before he was hurled into a coconut tree and then into the Sissano lagoon.
Fisherman Jerry Apuan said Sunday that he couldn't even count the number of bodies floating near one of the devastated villages. "There were so many bodies together I had to move the boat slowly to pass through them," he said. "I was afraid. It was the first time I had seen so many bodies."
Scores of children were among the dead. Hundreds of people were injured and were awaiting urgent medical help, while others were believed to have fled to higher ground in the interior. An estimated 6,000 people were left homeless.
"We heard a large bang, then saw the sea rising up. We had no choice but to run for our lives," Paul Saroya, a resident of Nimas village, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.
Papua New Guinea, with a population of 4 million, occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. It has a mountainous, jungle-filled interior that has only been explored in the past 20 to 30 years, along with lush tropical beaches on the coastal plains. The capital, Port Moresby, is about 375 miles east of Australia.
The tsunami struck west of the town of Aitape in West Sepik province, hitting villages about 370 miles northwest of Port Moresby.
District disaster coordinating chairman Dickson Dalle said the Nimas village near the Sissano lagoon, the Warapu village, and the Arop village were wiped out and the Malol village suffered severe damage. Dalle said the latest death toll was 599, including 500 people confirmed dead at Warapu. But he said the figure could increase as more bodies were found, and it was impossible to say how many were missing. "There are still people out there who are injured that we have not rescued," he said. "They're scattered all over in the mangroves." Dalle said most of the victims were old people and schoolchildren. "Schools in Arop, Sissano, and Warapu will be closed because we don't have the children," Dalle said. "They're all dead."
Australian aid officials in Papua New Guinea estimated the death toll would climb to more than 1,000, with many thousands injured, Australian Defense Minister Ian McLachlan said.
Prime Minister Bill Skate inspected part of the stricken area Sunday.
The area is a jungle, swamp area that includes tribes that rely on subsistance farming and fishing. Most live in homes made of jungle materials and built on beaches. The population in the area affected was 8,000 to 10,000 people, said Robert Igara, the government's chief secretary.
Three Australian Defense Forces Hercules C-130 transport planes left Australia Sunday with equipment to set up a field hospital. The equipment includes a mini-surgery theater, water treatment and insect sprays to avoid potential disease outbreaks.
In Rome, Pope John Paul II, who has visited Papua New Guinea twice during his papacy, dedicated his Sunday morning prayers to the victims. A spokesman said the pope as "very concerned" and asked to be kept informed.
AP-NY-07-19-98 1506EDT
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press.
