British Colony Devastated by Stormgreenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread |
June 7, 2001LONDON (AP) via NewsEdge Corporation -
A devastating storm has wreaked havoc on the world's most remote inhabited island and left the British colony without power for a week, the British Foreign Office said Wednesday.
Winds of 120 mph destroyed the hospital and community center and damaged homes on Tristan da Cunha _ a South Atlantic island which lies 1,500 miles off the coast of South Africa.
None of the island's 300-strong population was seriously injured in the May 23 storm, but a large number of cattle died. The island also lost its satellite phone and the roof was blown off the radio station.
The Foreign Office said Wednesday that Britain was offering a $105,000 emergency aid package.
The island's economy is based mostly on fishing, selling postage stamps and occasional tourism, but a supply ship does visit once a year.
The island has been a British colony since 1834 but its links with Britain date back to 1658 when the British East India Company won a charter to colonize and fortify it.
In 1961, the entire population of Tristan da Cunha was evacuated to Britain after a volcanic eruption. Most residents eventually chose to return.
http://www.individual.com/servlet/BuildIssue?mode=topics&content_src=/frames/topic.shtml%3ftopic=522%26date=20010607%26inIssue=TRUE
-- Rich Marsh (marshr@airmail.net), June 07, 2001