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Solomon Islands shaken by second earthquake in two days Solomon Islands shaken by second earthquake in two days Solomon Islands shaken by second earthquake in two days
(about 1 hour later)
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake has struck off the Solomon Islands, one day after a major tremor, raising the threat of hazardous tsunami waves, according to officials. The Solomon Islands were rattled by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on Saturday, a day after hundreds of people along the coast fled into the hills following a 7.8 magnitude tremor.
However, police in the nearest centre to the offshore quake said there were no reports of fresh damage and residents did not flee their homes as they had the previous day. The latest quake initially triggered a fresh tsunami warning for the Solomons but that was lifted by authorities a short time later. There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.
The epicentre of the latest tremor, which hit at 6.10 am on Saturday (7.10pm on Friday GMT), was located 55 miles west of Kirakira, a provincial capital in the Solomons, at a depth of six miles, according to the US Geological Survey. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) said the threat had largely passed and only small waves were recorded along the coastline.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had said there was no threat from the quake but later forecasted “hazardous tsunami waves” 1-3 metres above tide level along some coasts of the Solomons. “Based on all available data the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed,” the PTWC said in an alert after the quake 89km (55 miles) west of Kira Kira. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake happened 10km deep (six miles).
It warned of waves up to 30cm along the eastern coast of Australia, 1,200 miles away. The wash could also hit Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Waves of less than 30cm above the tide level were forecast for Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The latest quake came as an aid agency reported that hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed in Friday’s 7.7 magnitude tremor. The Solomon Islands have been hit by a series of aftershocks since Friday’s initial major quake that struck 130 km (80 miles) from the capital, Honiara.
Speaking from the capital Honiara, Suzy Sainovski, World Vision’s Pacific Timor-Leste spokeswoman, said it has been hard to get a full assessment from some more remote communities, many of which do not have cellphone coverage. That first powerful quake in the early hours of Friday triggered a series of tsunami alerts across the region, sending hundreds of people in the Solomons scrambling to higher ground.
“There are some initial reports that 3,000 people have been affected,” Sainovski said. “Some of these are traditional houses that are on stilts, and made with vegetation.” There were no confirmed casualties from Friday’s quake, although communications across the archipelago of some 900 far-flung islands can be difficult.
The Solomon Islands are part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a zone of tectonic activity known for frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions. Hundreds of people in southern Makira province, closest to the epicentre, spent Friday night in the hills.
In 2007, an 8.0-magnitude quake in the Solomon Islands claimed 52 lives and left thousands homeless, when it created a 10-metre tsunami.