A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the on Saturday, sparking panic but no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami alert.
The underwater quake hit 58 kilometres (36 miles)of Kira Kira, on Makira Island, and 206 kilometres southeast of the Pacific nation’s capital Honiara, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake, which the USGS initially said packed a magnitude of 7.1, struck at a depth of about 35 kilometres, at 4.30 pm (0530 GMT).
It was reported to be among the felt in Honiara for a decade and sent people fleeing from their homes into the capital’s streets.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a bulletin, but no warning, saying “no destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data”.
However, it warned earthquakes of such a magnitude “sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within 100 kilometres of the earthquake epicentre.
“Authorities in the region of the epicentre should be aware of this possibility and take action.”
The National Disaster Council (NDC) said word was yet to be received from officers and police in areas closest to the epicentre, but no damage had been reported.
“So far we have not received any reports of damage or casualties,” an NDC spokesman told AFP.
The Solomons lies in the “Pacific ring of fire”, a highly active earthquake zone that regularly experiences earthquakes, most recently a 6.8-magnitude quake in April, without a tsunami or reports of damage.
A string of tremors rocked the western Solomon Islands in January, with the largest of 7.2 causing a tsunami at eight feet (nearly 2.5 metres).
Around 1,000 people — almost a third of the population — are believed to have been left homeless on Rendova island due to earthquake and tsunami damage.
In April 2007, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake in the western Solomons triggered a tsunami that killed more than 50 people and displaced thousands. Gizo
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