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 HONIARA, Solomon Islands (AP) - Bodies floated out to sea and thousands of residents camped out overnight Tuesday on a hillside above a devastated town in the western Solomon Islands after a tsunami that struck without warning washed away coastal villages, killing up to 20 people. The death toll was expected to rise.
A wall of water reportedly 30 feet high struck the island of Choiseul and swept a third of a mile inland, while smaller but still destructive waves surged ashore elsewhere in the western part of the impoverished archipelago, causing widespread damage and driving thousands from their homes.
Fifteen people were confirmed killed and more than 900 homes were destroyed in the Solomons, National Disaster Management Office spokesman Julian Makaa told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. In addition, the station also reported the first deaths in neighboring Papua New Guinea, were a family of five was reportedly washed away.
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