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Afer the

Guam picks up the pieces ... again

DAMAGE caused by the powerful earthquake that shook this western Pacific island will probably exceed the SUS2SO million caused by last summer’s Typhoon Omar, a government official said. Cars tumbled from bridges and buildings were battered by the August 8 quake which registered 8.1 to 8 2 on the Richter scale. However, no deaths or serious injuries were reported. An initial investigation m the aftermath of one of the strongest earthquakes of this century indicated five hotels sustained major damage and most likely, they will have to be taken down said Joe Terlaje. director of Guam s Civil Defence. The tallest hotel stands 11 storeys high.

“We don’t have a total accounting of the damage yet but it s already well over SUSIOO million,” he said, adding that the total eventually will probably top that from Typhoon Omar. Power and water service to this US territory was gradually being restored, Terlaje said.

He said electricity was up in most areas of northern and central Guam, but it would be another 24 hours before full service is restored.

Water service was restored in about 60 per cent of the area. The terror remained fresh in the minds of those who endured it. “I was up on the second floor and I thought the building was going to

collapse. That’s how big the earthquake

was,” Terlaje said. “It was really scary.

Everybody was screaming.”

About 50 people were treated for

quake-related injuries, mostly bumps,

bruises and cuts, Guam Memorial Hos pital administrator Peter John Camacho said. The quake collapsed one bridge, and several others were declared unsafe.

Cars caught on bridges tumbled into rivers and others were partially covered by falling rocks or landslides. At the Guam Hilton, Betty Marie Bolton was working at the reception desk when the 9 ua k e hit with a loud noise. Then I e * in S eart h r P°^ e anc shake, she said. I ran out of the hotel P 1 * 0 * street. I thought I was going to swa “ owec l U P- Fire fighters had to break down doors to free some guests at the Royal Palm

Hotel after two floors collapsed, said Jon Anderson of radio station KGUM. The 60-second quake struck around 6:35pm (18.35 AEST) Sunday. Its epicentre was 80km west-southwest of Agana, the capital. The quake, in an area known for strong tremors, registered a magnitude -8.2 reading at the California Seismo graphic Station at Berkeley, California.

Scientists at the National Earthquake Information Centre in Golden, Colo rado, logged an 8.1 reading.

Several aftershocks were reported, the largest measuring 5.5, and more were expected. Guam, population 133,000, is located west of the international date line, about 6080 km) west of Hawaii and 2400 km south of Japan. The island is 50km long and 13km across at its widest point. The last great earthquake was one measuring 8.2 in the Macquarie Islands in the South Pacific on May 23, 1989, said Stuart Koyanagi of the National Earthquake Information Centre. A quake of 9.5, the largest on record, was measured off the coast of Chile in 1960, he said. Guam was still recovering from last summer’s Typhoon Omar which destroyed 2000 homes and caused

US$25O million damage.