TIDAL WAVE KILLS 600 IN PACIFIC.

Byline: Associated Press 

A 23-foot-high tidal wave crashed into the northern coast of Papua New Guinea, washing away seaside villages, killing nearly 600 people and leaving hundreds of others missing, disaster officials said earlier today.

Hundreds were missing and thousands were without food and shelter after the wave hit the southwest Pacific island nation Friday night, following a magnitude-7 earthquake about 12 miles offshore, the National Disaster Center said.

``The latest death toll for the district is 599,'' said Dickson Dalle, disaster coordinator for West Sepik province. ``But the figure may increase.''

Most of the dead were old people and schoolchildren, he said.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio quoted Australian army officials today as saying that the death toll could rise as high as 2,000, but that figure could not be confirmed by the government.

Dalle said scores of injured people still have not been rescued. ``They are scattered all over in the mangroves.''

The wall of water, called a tsunami because it was caused by an earthquake, struck west of the town of Aitape in the West Sepik province, hitting at least four villages about 530 miles northwest of Port Moresby - Sissano, Warapu, Arop and Malol, disaster officials said.

The area is spotted with villages consisting of homes built of jungle materials on beaches.

``We expect that about 3,000 people have been made homeless,'' Austen Crapp, a relief organizer, told ABC radio.

The Papua New Guinea Defense Force was on standby Sunday.

``At Warapu, there is no house standing - it's a village of 1,800 people,'' Crapp said. ``Arop, again, is 1,800 to 2,000 people - there's nothing standing there.

Dalle said several schools were devastated.

``We have assumed that the schools in Arop, the schools in Sissano and the schools in Warapu will be closed because we don't have the children,'' Dalle said. ``They're dead . . . they're all dead.''

He said at Warapu 500 people had been confirmed dead, while Malol village had 40 dead and Sissano 41.

Prime Minister Bill Skate was expected to arrive in Aitape later this afternoon to assess the situation.

Earlier, the National Disaster Center said hundreds of people were missing and thousands had no food or shelter.

Reports indicated that 15 homes were destroyed in the Yakoi village but there were no deaths or injuries, he said. Six houses were damaged in Aitape, and an adjoining settlement was completely destroyed. There were no reports of deaths or missing people.

Robert Igara, the government's chief secretary, said the population in the area affected by the tsunami was 8,000 to 10,000 people.

``Officers are now visiting the affected villages and areas to establish the whereabouts, safety and health of the population,'' he said.

A helicopter pilot who landed in Aitape on Saturday reported seeing bodies floating among debris in a lagoon, Crapp said.

Papua New Guinea, with a population of 4 million, is largely dependent on agriculture and mining. The capital, Port Moresby, is located about 375 miles east of Australia's northeast tip.

The country's provincial disaster coordinator, Peter Tavun, said homeless survivors were in desperate need of food and shelter.

A helicopter was picking up injured people, and doctors had been flown in to treat them, Crapp said. Most of the injured were suffering from cuts and fractures.

Rob Parer, a businessman who lives near Aitape, said some villagers who fled into the jungle after the wave are still hiding there.

``The people have never heard of anything like it. They thought the world had ended,'' Parer told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

A quake registering 7.0 is devastating if it hits an urban area. The last tsunami in the area had been in December 1930, when a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck, McCue said.

Australia said it will provide transport for relief supplies and a mobile hospital to Papua New Guinea.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft now in Papua New Guinea on training exercises would be diverted to deliver supplies.

Queen Elizabeth II sent a message to Papua New Guinea, which is a member of the British Commonwealth, expressing her shock at the deaths.

``She said she was shocked at the tidal wave, and that her thoughts were with the families of the bereaved and injured,'' said a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman.